The rational take on Founder Mode
A less toxic Founder Mode requires self-awareness
Paul Graham’s essay on Founder Mode highlights a perspective that addresses a challenge that exists across all companies at all scales. Here’s the rational take:
Hiring and delegation are hard, understandably.
If neither or both are not done adequately, then micromanaging is a reasonable, however unfortunate, strategy for compensating.
This framing critiques the platonic ideals of business school dogma that micromanaging is strictly bad without factoring in the challenges of hiring and delegation. From this viewpoint, micromanagement can often be a necessary evil to maintain effectiveness. It should not the preferred avenue.
Perhaps it’s called “Founder Mode” because founders require a broader skillset than professional managers. As a result, many founders have less-developed hiring and delegation skills, especially in non-core areas. This leads them to need to micromanage to compensate for their limitations. A healthier, less toxic, discourse around Founder Mode requires acknowledging that micromanagement often arises from a leader’s skill gaps—not from a blanket justification for making direct reports miserable.
Founder Mode in early-stage startups
I disagree with the following Y Combinator video that Founder mode only applies to late-stage startups. The challenges of hiring and delegation are pervasive, whether you’re making your first hire or your 1000th with the complexities of a large organization with nested reporting structures.
Example from my own company
As someone with an engineering background, I’m confident in my ability to hire and delegate engineering work. But a successful startup requires much more than just engineering; there’s product development, design, sales, marketing, operations, HR, accounting, and more.
At large tech companies, I’ve been exposed to most of these functions—except accounting. In my early-stage, cash-constrained startup, accounting is critical, yet I don’t know what makes a good accountant or how to delegate those tasks effectively. This gap in my knowledge means I end up in “Founder Mode” when it comes to accounting—an area where I lack confidence and, unfortunately, overcompensate by micromanaging.
There is no such thing as a perfect founder. Life—and startups—are full of constraints, and hiring and delegating effectively across all functions is a rare skill. Most of us struggle with it at some point, and it’s important to acknowledge this rather than perpetuate an idealized, unrealistic image of startup leadership.