Who Do You Really Need?

by
Steve August
February 16, 2021
5 Rules for Rocket Ships
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Ruthless Simplicity

I recently launched a quiz that helps you identify your Founder Type. Over the past couple of decades of Founding businesses and coaching other Founders, I’ve identified Four dominant Founder types:

  • Type V: Visionary Evangelists
  • Type E: Expert Craftspersons
  • Type B: Empire Builders
  • Type O: Organizational Maestros


Visionary Evangelists see connections and possibilities and are skilled at inspiring others to see their vision.

Expert Craftspersons go deep and are masters of using their immense skills and expertise to solve important problems.

Empire Builders are all about building businesses that dominate and win.

Organizational Maestros make sure the team is firing on all cylinders and that the business has the systems, processes, and culture to support rapid growth.

Now, while Founders will play all of the roles in the early days, they usually have one primary type.

The interesting thing about all of the types is that they need each other.

Type V’s need Type E’s to execute their visions, Type B’s to make sure revenue is growing, and Type O’s to keep the wheels running smoothly.

Type E’s need Type B’s to grow the business, Type O’s to keep the wheels running smoothly, and Type V’s to expand the possibilities and impact of their work.

Type B’s need Type V’s and Type E’s to have something to sell and Type O’s to make sure the business functions well.

Type O’s need Type V’s and Type E’s to have something to organize a team around and Type B’s to grow the business.

Thich Nhat Hahn once said, “Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.”

It seems like a simple piece of awareness, but I wish I had this awareness of my Founder Type when I was running my first startup. I would have been much more clear on who I needed.  

Like a lot of Founders, I could do a lot of things well. It worked in the early days, but then it held us back as we scaled.

As things scale, you need to increasingly play the role of your Primary Founder Type and build the team of other Founder Types to do what they do best.

That’s a lot easier when you know who you really need.

If you haven’t taken the Founder Type Quiz yet, Take it here.

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