korrents

korrents · piece

Founder Mode

Paul Graham · 1 Sept 2024 · paulgraham.com ↗

6 korrents from this piece

Paul Graham did not write this page.

Every claim below was made in this piece, quoted word for word and numbered in the order the piece makes them, so you can read it there rather than take our word for it. The sentence above each quote is our reading of the claim, not their wording. Each quote was checked against a stored copy of the page at build time; where the two differ, the quote is the fact.

  1. Our reading

    There are things founders can do that managers cannot, and not doing them feels wrong to founders because it is wrong.

    Their wordsThere are things founders can do that managers can't, and not doing them feels wrong to founders, because it is.

  2. Our reading

    There are two ways to run a company — founder mode and manager mode — and Silicon Valley has wrongly assumed that scaling a startup means switching to the second.

    Their wordsIn effect there are two different ways to run a company: founder mode and manager mode. Till now most people even in Silicon Valley have implicitly assumed that scaling a startup meant switching to manager mode.

  3. Our reading

    In practice "hire good people and give them room to do their jobs" often means hiring professional fakers and letting them drive the company into the ground.

    Their wordsExcept in practice, judging from the report of founder after founder, what this often turns out to mean is: hire professional fakers and let them drive the company into the ground.

  4. Our reading

    Founder mode breaks the rule that a CEO engages with the company only through direct reports, and makes skip-level meetings the norm.

    Their wordsWhatever founder mode consists of, it's pretty clear that it's going to break the principle that the CEO should engage with the company only via his or her direct reports.

  5. Our reading

    Founder mode will be more complicated than manager mode, and will also work better.

    Their wordsSo founder mode will be more complicated than manager mode. But it will also work better.

  6. Our reading

    As soon as founder mode is an established idea people will misuse it: founders excusing an inability to delegate, and managers deciding to act like founders.

    Their wordsI also have another less optimistic prediction: as soon as the concept of founder mode becomes established, people will start misusing it. Founders who are unable to delegate even things they should will use founder mode as the excuse. Or managers who aren't founders will decide they should try to act like founders.