SIMPLY PUT: Founder Mode — the secret sauce to startup success or a fancy term for rushing and micromanagement?

Silicon Valley usually buzzes with new buzzwords every so often. Earlier this year, the phrase “unbossing” captured the imagination of corporate America. The trend seems to be spreading to India, too, where there are several examples of companies firing middle managers. You can read more about the “unbossing” trend in India here: What’s Up with All the “Unbossing” Talk?

And now, surprisingly, we have a new trend that came straight from the minds of Silicon Valley’s top people: Founder mode. It’s like a superhero cape for a CEO, but without the spandex. Y Combinator co-founder Paul GrahamInspired by Airban CEO Brian Chesky’s speech at an event, he wrote a blog post about Founder Mode that sparked a conversation across the startup world.

According to Graham, when Chesky reached the scale AirbnbInitially, he followed the accepted strategy of hiring skilled professionals and giving them autonomy. But that approach was like running a marathon in flip-flops; it simply didn’t produce the results he wanted. So he decided to go full-blown “Founder Mode,” which essentially meant being CEO, janitor, and motivational speaker all at once.

Paul Graham’s blog post went viral (photo: Y Combinator)

Graham’s post suggests that this experience isn’t unique to Chesky—many other founders have faced similar challenges and come to similar conclusions. The result is the growing recognition of “Founder Mode.”

What is Founder Mode?

Founder mode is a way of thinking that allows entrepreneurs to remain deeply involved in the day-to-day operations of the company, even as it grows.

As we’ve seen in many Hollywood movies and real-world examples like Jobs, Musk, Zuckerberg, and Murthy, founders operate (a little too) differently than trained executives and managers. They’re like kids who built their own fort and refuse to let anyone else touch it.

Seriously, anecdotal evidence confirms that founders focus on the vision, processes, and details of a company in a way that managers typically don’t. Graham’s post suggests that this is a different way to run a company—one that embraces a hands-on approach to leadership, in which founders engage with more than just their direct reports.
Unlike traditional corporate structures, where executives are expected to delegate and step down, founder mode requires more personal involvement. Essentially, when a company’s CEO is in founder mode, where founders bypass management levels to communicate directly with lower-level employees, they can simply walk up to a junior employee and ask, “What’s up?” is something that Elon Musk Apparently he’s been doing this for some time.

One of the key aspects of Founder Mode, Graham says, is that founders can make decisions with a level of intuition and insight that professional managers often lack. That’s largely because they built the company from the ground up and have a deep understanding of its operations, culture, and customers.

Professional managers, on the other hand, are typically involved in optimizing and scaling already implemented systems, which can often lead to decisions that seem disconnected from the company’s original vision.

Steve Jobs and Apple: A Classic Example of Founder Mode

Many experts agree that Steve Jobs is the ultimate example of Founder Mode (Photo: Unsplash)

A key example Graham used is Steve Jobs, who was famous for running Apple with an almost obsessive focus on product and design. Jobs didn’t just delegate these responsibilities to his team; he was known for getting involved in the nitty-gritty, often directly challenging decisions and leading initiatives that others might have considered too detailed for a CEO.

Graham drew a parallel between this approach and what Chesky understood at Airbnb—that being too withdrawn can actually hurt a company. Founders, Graham wrote, are often “hyped” to believe they should adopt a more hands-off style, only to see their companies suffer as a result. But many experts also believe that Founder Mode is often disastrous for companies, except in rare cases, and that a balance between founder mode and manager mode is necessary.

Founder Mode vs. Manager Mode: Experts weigh in on the debate

Debates about Founder Mode have raged across social media since Graham’s blog post earlier this month. The philosophical divide between Founder Mode and Manager Mode often forces people to choose sides, while industry veterans and experts say it’s important to understand both approaches and that companies need to strike a balance between them.

Sonica Aron, founder of the consulting firm Marching Sheep, sees the role of managers and says it is important to have good people in the team and to give them a sense of agency.

In a conversation with Business Insider India, she says, “As a founder, I consider myself very goal-oriented and passionate about my business. As a result, sometimes decisions are made from the heart and not the mind. That’s why it’s important to have smart and committed people in your team, empower them, involve them in decision-making. Also, as a founder, I am responsible not only for the health of my business but also for the overall well-being of my team. If they do well, we all do well.”

On the other hand, Mr. Srinivasa Addepalli, Founder and CEO, GlobalGyan Leadership Academy, feels that the founder vs. manager mode debate should not even take place. He told Business Insider India that according to him, “all good leaders, be they startup founders or corporate executives, must be able to be in both modes and switch between them depending on the context.”

He added: “A Founder Mode leader tackles problems with passion and ownership, without concern for hierarchy, precedent, or due process. But founders must remain humble about their fragility. To ensure sustainability, Manager Mode—focused on developing others, building structure, and codifying knowledge—becomes essential, even if it requires them to give up some control and accept inefficiencies. For example, Steve Jobs’ decision to create Apple University was a classic Manager Mode action by one of the most famous founders.”

Ayush Singh, founder of smart tech company MaplePods, says, “Founder Mode can inspire new entrepreneurs, but seasoned founders know that building something meaningful and scalable takes more than just motivation — it’s about solving problems, staying resilient, and seeking real support along the way.”

While many people believe that getting into Founder Mode is healthy, some experts argue otherwise. They argue that because founders are deeply committed to their vision, too much involvement can lead to micromanagement and hinder the development of the leadership team. This creates a culture of dependency and can cause chaos when a founder steps into too many areas, leading to inefficiency and fear among employees.

Mr. Ankit Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Unstop, told Business Insider India, “While Founder Mode can foster an entrepreneurial culture and drive rapid growth, it comes with significant challenges around scalability, accountability, and founder burnout. As companies scale, Founder Mode can lead to bottlenecks as founders may find it difficult to delegate. This limits the development of a strong leadership team and can stifle creativity from other employees.”

He also adds that over-commitment can lead to founder burnout, which negatively impacts both the individual and the company.

“In the long term, while Founder Mode can work for early-stage startups, founders need to recognize when to step back and ‘retire.’ Retire to allow the company to grow through more traditional structures without becoming overly hierarchical. Balancing innovation with scalability is key to long-term success, allowing founders to focus on strategy while strengthening their teams.”

Meanwhile, Aleksandr Yampolskiy, co-founder and CEO of SecurityScorecard, said in a LinkedIn article that Founder Mode has both advantages and disadvantages. He emphasized the value of Founder Mode in providing visionary leadership and enabling CEOs to challenge their teams and boards when necessary.

But Yampolskiy also wrote that overstepping boundaries and micromanaging can create chaos and a culture of fear. He said founders need to learn to evolve as the company grows, to delegate and become redundant over time.

Why are people talking about Founder Mode now?

So why did Graham’s blog post go viral, and why are people talking about Founder Mode? The Founder vs. Manager Mode debate may have been going on for ages, but Graham’s blog post did a lot to popularize the confusion that millions of founders go through.

Risa Mish, a professor of management at Cornell University’s Johnson College of Business, told the Observer that “it’s no surprise that Graham’s message resonated with founders for whom conventional wisdom didn’t work.”

“It comes down to something very basic: one size does not fit all.”