Just To Be Cool Founders vs In the Trenches Founder
I’ve always wondered about this but nobody is really talking about it.
In the startup world, there are founders/stakeholders that are in the trenches, really grinding out the work, practically 24/7, validating, testing, marketing, talking to users, doing whatever it takes.
And then, there are the founders/stakeholders that are just there for the namesake. To be able to say that they are a CEO or a founder. To be able to get that next interview or that next Clubhouse talk. To be active in that startup Facebook Group. Always waiting for that next podcast interview invite.
Sure, some will say it’s a way to promote, get some investors on board. Yeah, to scam them. Real investors aren’t that stupid.
I’ve been in a lot of groups and I’ve seen this manifest over time. There are more and more wannabe’s that just talk, brag about how they listen to 20 podcasts per day, read 2 books “completely” per week, complain about users and nag about paying customers but if you look at the company, it’s not yet even built or not even running or there’s no traction.
Hustle culture that people shit on so much now was probably caused by these idiots.
There I said it.
It’s just fact. Look around your own startup groups. Your Clubhouse rooms. There are more pretenders now than ever.
Some are probably angling to take money from an investor because their idea “hits” a billion dollar market. Some might just be building a portfolio to eventually fallback as a “consultant” or an online course creator or just an overall sense of “fame” to make them feel better.
I was told once that people are in these startup groups to build connections. That’s ok, that’s alright. I am not disputing that, you will meet somebody eventually but I’m just saying, in many groups, there are people that are just pretenders and they are usually the vocal ones in the group and often lauded by the members in the group. Don’t be fooled.
Entrepreneurs aren’t sheep. You are built to work and lead by example, not by the number of speaking gigs you’ve done. Prove it with what you accomplish.
Drop me a DM and say Hi. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.