The Importance of Avoiding Founder Syndrome as an Emerging Entrepreneur

This article was co-authored by Carol Schultz and Sophia Shaw. Shaw is the co-founder of PlanPerfect, a platform that makes strategic planning easier, and former president and CEO of Chicago Botanic Garden. She also directed Northwestern University’s Kellogg Board Fellows program, preparing future civic leaders through nonprofit board service.

A founder wants their business to succeed. It’s their vision, and they’ve worked countless hours to make it a reality. The idea, risks, capital, and hard work are theirs, and often, they’re the only person who fully understands or believes in the vision at the start. Because of this, it’s only natural for a founder to become attached to their company’s success and to see it as an extension of their identity.

This deep connection can drive innovation and resilience. However, without foresight and self-awareness, the intertwining of self and enterprise can create serious limitations that contribute to a misaligned C-suite, an unhealthy culture, micromanagement, and a decreasing bottom line.  

Startup leaders who are experiencing these symptoms may be suffering from founder syndrome—when an organization has become so associated with one person or small group of people (even if they aren’t founders) that the culture, productivity, and sustainability of the business are negatively affected. 

By being aware of founder syndrome from the start, entrepreneurs can build strong foundations for success. It’s important to watch out for the following symptoms:  

The founder has a tough time hiring and delegating tasks. 

A founder must hire employees or fractional help to delegate key tasks and grow their startup from the start. It is a red flag when a founder attempts to do it all themselves, thinking they know best. For a business to survive, founders must surround themselves with people who add value to their skillset.  

The founder has hired help but still can’t give up control. 

A founder may have expanded their team, but trouble arises if they still maintain a mindset of “I know best” or have developed a need to control all aspects of day-to-day operations. Over time, this behavior feeds a dysfunctional organizational dependence on one person and creates bottlenecks to growth.  

The founder wants to stay front-and-center. 

When one person becomes inextricably tied to a company’s brand (think Tesla, Meta, or Apple), succession becomes tricky, and it can lead to an unhealthy dependence. People can’t think about the company, product, or service without aligning it with the founder.  

The founder is “too busy” for strategic planning. 

Despite constant activity, the leader who suffers from founder syndrome consistently avoids higher-level thinking. The founder may micromanage their team or resist change, all while delaying or neglecting strategic planning entirely.  

Company profits decline, and turnover rates increase.

Because the founder is so involved, they may not have time to make strategic decisions. They may also be too rigid in their thinking to make an effective decision if it doesn’t align with their original vision. This can undermine morale, trust, productivity, and profits. 

No one has a framework for making decisions on their own. 

Because one person has always been responsible for everything, clear policies, procedures, and strong governance may not exist. Even when the business appears to be growing, the internal infrastructure may be rotten—it can neither support sustainable growth nor attract or retain top talent.  

The Better Way

Here are some measures that founders can take to separate their identity from their business. 

Don’t wait to hire help. 

Assess what your strengths and weaknesses are and what tasks you do/don’t enjoy. Seek collaborators to enhance your product or offering. Doing two or more jobs to save money will not help you make money.   

Build strong systems early. 

From your first days in business, build strong legal, accounting, and governance structures. Encourage diversity in thinking, bring on new voices, and put term limits and leadership rotation in place. 

Get professional support from mental health professionals and executive coaches.  

Mental health professionals and executive coaches can help founders navigate the emotional ups and downs of entrepreneurship. Both can be attentive listeners for founders either during the initial phases of a company or during succession planning.   

Strategic planning and succession planning are vital. 

As the company matures, you’ll need outside support for succession planning and strategy. Succession planning is a structured, long-term approach to leadership transition. Strategic planning helps define the direction and priorities of the business, so others aren’t always looking to the founder for the next steps.   

Creating a Lasting Enterprise That Moves Beyond the Founder  

Some founders think the solution is to simply work harder. But there are still many examples when one personality leads the show too long and it becomes a problem. The founder’s energy or personality becomes a bottleneck and detrimental to the business. The echo-chamber effect of Founder Syndrome is real. Attracting smart, experienced people with fresh ideas generates credibility and alternative possibilities for growth in ways the founder may not have imagined.   

Ultimately, founders need to ask whether the company is about them or about the impact the business can have on the world. If it’s the former, it’s possible the organization may not make it after the founder has departed. If the latter, new people will need to be brought on to complement the founder’s skills.

When the time comes, prepare for succession. The act of leadership is not just about starting something. It’s also about knowing how and when to hand it off.