The Founder Mindset: What it is and Why it Matters
Last week, Steadfast had an unusual team meeting. Our CEO, Elise, does an incredible job of keeping meetings fresh and lively, starting every meeting with a fun icebreaker, but also trying to inject other activities and concepts into the meat of the meeting itself.
In this case, Elise had asked each of us to show up with a number of product ideas. It was in this moment that I was able to experience just how powerful building a team of founder-minded individuals really is. As we went around the digital room, each team member laid out at least one (several had 3+) product that had been on their mind. Except that unlike most discussions of this nature, the conversation didn’t focus on “wouldn’t it be cool if…”
In our case, everyone’s idea began with a problem that needed a solution. Some problems were more fundamental than others. There were plenty of fun concepts tossed around, and more than enough laughter. Yet, it soon became clear that several people had been really thinking about one set of problems in particular, and slowly, an initial concept of a solution came together.
Will we build it? Possibly. But the more important element was the process. Inspiration comes from all sorts of sources, but sometimes just throwing out an unconventional task and letting creative people come at it can make all the difference.
Given this inspiration, we’re starting a bit of a new series today. In this and a few following blogs, we’re going to be talking about founders, the entrepreneurial mindset, and how important it is regardless of what stage your company is at.
What is a founder?
We use a lot of words to describe this type of person: founder, entrepreneur, business-owner, inventor. In reality there are so many different kinds of founders, operating very differently depending on their vision, passion, industry, skill set, and so much more. The terms are broad and largely undefined for a reason: we want them to include as many people as possible without losing all meaning.
So what is a founder? Here is my definition: a founder is someone who is driven to create something beneficial for a group of people.
All founders are creatives, even if not all creatives are founders (but quite a few are). The key distinction between a founder and an artist is in the motivation. An artist creates primarily for themselves, and then presents to the world. A founder creates primarily for others, and finds personal value in the delight of others. These motivations often overlap, so the question is one of degree.
Founders have myriad other characteristics. They are as varied as humanity, with differing backgrounds, motivations, perspectives, and skills. The thing that unites them is the desire to make the world a better place. That sounds lofty, but a great plumber can make someone’s world better. Not every founder is Musk or Zuckerberg or Bezos, but their endeavors are no less important.
What is the founder mindset?
Given this fundamental motivation, there are a few important elements of a founder perspective that we look for in both our clients and our team.
1. Curiosity
Changing the world starts with curiosity about what is broken. The simplest-seeming products, brands, and companies all start with a particular perspective on why they need to exist. Whether you’re an influencer pumping out niche content, a services company looking to change the way things are typically done, or a tech brand looking to disrupt the biggest players in the world, it all starts with curiosity.
Founders have to want to know why things aren’t working, or how they could be better. That means digging in, understanding the status quo and how it is broken, and how people’s lives could be better. Founders ask a lot of questions, do a ton of research, spend time in meetings. Founders get out of the office. Founders want to know everything.
2. Empathy
If your primary motivation is to build for others, you must be able to understand them on a very deep level. People are complex, and so are their decisions and motivations. There are simple explanations, but those explanations rarely tell the whole story.
Creating a product, service, or brand that gets people excited, makes people feel seen and cared for, or motivates them to take action is a very difficult task. Founders aren’t just interested in knowing what is broken or what could be better technically. They want to know how that really affects the lives of people.
The ability to empathize with your target audience, to understand not just the simple, but the complex motivations, to see the way that products or services or processes fit into their lives, is one of the most vital elements of the founder mentality.
3. Solution-oriented
Founders vary from academics and researchers in one key way. For academics, researchers, and even authors, knowledge is the goal. Knowing what is happening, how it is happening, and the implications of it are enough. Mapping the concept with its problems and current solutions is success. To be fair, these endeavors are incredibly important.
Founders don’t stop there, however. In many cases, founders use the knowledge accumulated by the academy as a starting point, and add their own knowledge to it. But then they take the next step.
A problem is only important if there is a solution. Founders are constantly looking for problems, because they are actually looking for solutions. The value that founders bring to the world is in the ability to make it better, and that means taking concepts and marrying them to problems in a way that revolutionizes how people go through their lives.
4. Constantly Improving
Finally, founders understand that solutions are never perfect. Humanity is in a constant state of progress, and therefore, what we use, what we do, how we do it, must also be in constant motion.
Founders are never satisfied with the current state of things. Even if they have solved the big problem, they are looking for ways to solve the little ones. They are looking for the chance to optimize and to revolutionize even within their own brands, products, and services. That constant progress changes not just what they are doing, but the ways that people find meaning, delight, and value in what the founder is building.
You’ll rarely hear a founder talk about what they have built. Founders are almost always talking about what they are building. Because they know that what they are doing is a continuous process.
A great founder doesn’t just apply these lessons to her business. A great founder applies them to her life as well. Self-reflection is so important, but only if it is coupled with finding solutions and continuously improving.
This is what I love about Steadfast. The team applies these lessons to every job that it takes on, but the people are also constantly applying them in their own lives. It is why we are proud to work with them everyday, and what makes it so fun when we get out of the box and do creative things together.