MP here, coming in hot to bust the myth that is Founder™. Because spoiler…it’s not as aspirational as the internet wants you to think it is. What’s most shocking about the reemergence of this title as top tier clout, is that we’ve been here before. We saw how it ended (not good!). But the flood of talent-led brands over the last few years seems to be giving us collective amnesia, and driving home a binary message: if you don’t like your job, just become a Founder instead! …What could go wrong?!
Let me paint you a little picture. You’ve reached a certain level of success. Maybe it’s earned, maybe it’s inherited, but either way, you want more. You don’t want to be known as just an influencer. You’re over corporate and want to do things your way. You have an idea for a product that you really want to exist. So you decide that means you want to be a Founder.
Now, picture this. You have to turn your phone off to silence the nonstop calls from investors demanding answers. You’re avoiding your employees because payroll is tomorrow and you don’t know whether it will hit. Your community is turning on you because you made a mistake. Hit pieces are coming out because an old employee claims you run a toxic workplace. Your production company sues you because you hired the wrong person to manage your finances. Oh, and that last run of production? The one you were relying on to sell to make payroll? They already destroyed it as penance, sorry!
Stressful, right? I’m stressed just typing it. Because I’ve lived through each of the above experiences, either as a Founder myself, or as what I call the Founder Whisperer: being that right-hand trusted voice for people insane enough to start their own businesses.
I got my start during the DTC darling era of VC-backed “disruptor brands” led by young beautiful founders who were seemingly proving out a new career path, and turning into industry celebs in the process. The picture that these start-up founders were painting was insanely aspirational for the young and ambitious. It felt like everyone wanted to be Founder. And, thanks to the internet and a healthy economy, it was easier than ever to convince a few VC funds frothing at the mouth with FOMO to give you a couple million dollars to do it if the branding was fire (and you were white 🙄).
Working at one of those brands seemed like the new dream. To see how it’s done so that I could eventually do it myself. Which is exactly what I did. I landed a job with one of the hottest start-ups in NYC, a wellness brand selling $10 charcoal water in chic striped bottles that instantly became an insider symbol for taste.
My job was to build my Founder into that rock star, which, given his default settings of a leather jacket and great hair, was already set up for success. Unsurprisingly, my hunger and his ‘it-factor’ turned into a world tour. Literally. We traveled around the world, building the brand’s profile by headlining conferences where nerdy beverage execs crowded him like he was Harry Styles. It was a lot of fun for a long time. But, honestly, what I saw him go through in the process was not even a little aspirational.
Here’s the thing, being a Founder is not sexy. It means being able to exist and operate in a state of constant pressure. Most people aren’t cut out for that. So why are we back to thinking that it is when the receipts are right in front of us?
The Emma Grede effect
Imagine the déjà vu I’m experiencing now that we’re back in that idealized Founder™ mindset today. I lived through it ending in flames, and not much has changed. Instead of turning business innovators into celebs/influencers, we’re turning celebs/influencers into business innovators (allegedly).