What the Hell is Founder Mode?

the most common buzzword of the past few days, thanks to Paul Graham

Author

Oliver Stafurik
September 09, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

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Last week, my LinkedIn feed exploded.

"Founder Mode" was suddenly everywhere. 17 posts every single day, all dropping the term like it was common knowledge.

It’s the “hybrid athlete” level of buzzword all over again, but in the business niche.

The source of the phrase? A new essay by Y Combinator's Paul Graham.

But what does it actually mean?

Today at a Glance:

Tool → Artisan

Strategy → Two ways to scale a company

Strategy → Creating a company on steroids

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Two ways to scale a company

At a YC event last week Brian Chesky gave a talk that everyone who was there will remember.

The theme of Brian’s talk was how the conventional advice (hire good people → become a manager of those people → scale) how to run larger companies is flawed. Let’s call this a “manager mode”.

The approach that worked for Brian was taken from practices of Steve Jobs, who directly worked with all his teams. This one Paul Graham refers to as a “founder mode”.

The reality is that founders possess unique insights and instincts that can drive their companies forward in ways that traditional management cannot.

This means embracing a more hands-on, involved approach rather than stepping back and letting others take the reins.

The way managers are taught to run companies seems to be like modular design in the sense that you treat subtrees of the org chart as black boxes. You tell your direct reports what to do, and it's up to them to figure out how.

Paul Graham

You as the founder know the company the best. Why would you listen to an external advice how to treat the organisation they have never even been a part of?

Because no one scales your company better than the person who built it.

Creating a company on steroids

Brian ditched the “hire and delegate” playbook. Instead, he dove deep into every aspect of the business.

Be the customer.

He would regularly book Airbnbs, experiencing the product firsthand. This hands-on method gave him insights no report could match.

Brian also embraced direct communication. Skip-level meetings became the norm, not the exception. He'd connect with employees at all levels, cutting through bureaucratic corporate layers.

Are you an employee that requires my time? I’ll meet with you whether you’ve been at the company for 4 days or 15 years. 

The result? A company that scaled without losing its soul. Airbnb's culture remained strong, its innovation sharp.

Chesky's method wasn't just different. It was transformative. It proved that founders could scale their companies without stepping back.

This is Founder Mode in action.

It's messy, it's involved, but it works. And it's reshaping how we think about growing startups.

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