The Cult of Founder Mode

Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that I spent most of Labor Day weekend in bed recovering from a bout of Covid, because I was blissfully unaware of the newest venture capital debate brewing online.

Rather than enjoy barbecues with their families, it seems like many venture capitalists and startup founders spent the weekend engaging in an argument about the efficacy of “founder mode” versus “manager mode,” a conversation inspired by the latest blog post from Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham. 

In case you missed it, founder mode advocates for founders to trust their instincts and continue to run the company the way they did in the early startup days. This mode requires founders to remain deeply involved in all aspects of the business, rather than absorbing managerial books that encourage executives to "hire good people and give them room to do their jobs,” Graham writes. Manager mode, on the other hand, involves delegating tasks and focusing on the big picture.