Go work for a "Founder Mode" company

But only if you want to be ruined for the rest of forever

Let’s kick things off with a collective eye roll. Yes, this is yet another blog post about “Founder Mode.” If you’re blissfully unaware of what that means, well, I envy you. Truly.

In keeping with the theme of this newsletter—sharing the professional lessons I’ve picked up over the last decade of work and almost four years of parenting (five if you count pregnancy)—here’s my one big takeaway from the concept of "Founder Mode": go work at a founder-mode company.

My nightmare: Slow and Boring

Big companies? Slow and boring. Six months to add a column in Salesforce. A whole year to agree on a pricing change. An entire quarter to plan another quarter’s roadmap. The feedback loop is so long it feels like we’re living in dog years. These companies become bloated with middle management—each with their own agendas, each with just enough freedom to make real change nearly impossible. Trying to pivot a company like this is like trying to turn the Titanic: either hopeless, pointless, and more likely both.

A founder-mode company, on the other hand, is an entirely different beast. This is where a strategic leader (often, but not always, the founder) can identify a problem, fix it, and move on. No waiting, no committees, no endless debates. See problem, fix problem.

There’s also a middle ground- a small company that operates like a company too big for its britches. These are small companies in headcount, but where people are not empowered to make a difference. These are companies where you have to ask permission to get the mop from the closet to clean up the spill on the floor or where fixing the typo in someone else’s Notion doc will get you a slap on the wrist. Arguably, these are even worst than slow and boring big companies because they have the potential to be efficient but have mediocre people slowing everything down.

Drive Impact, Fix Problems, Move On

A founder-mode company is one where individuals can truly drive impact. Anyone can spot a typo in the help docs and fix it. Anyone can identify an opportunity for a new cross-sell campaign and execute it. These companies operate with short toes and low egos. Everyone believes they can make a difference. If you’re the type who loves bureaucracy, hierarchy, and endlessly asking for permission, please, stay at your Titanic of a company, holding down a boring job so the rest of us can work at founder-mode companies and eat your lunch.

I think Harry Glaser said it best:

[G]reat leaders are eager to collaborate with the founders on improving their team’s execution. Great leaders are not threatened by you working directly with their teams. This is because great leaders just want to win, and are genuinely excited by any and all ideas, collaborations and bar-raising standards that help the team win.

I think that shallow and incorrect read of the Founder Mode article is that Founders should hoard all responsibilities in a company and keep other folks from doing great work. Instead, I see it as the opposite: Founder Mode companies are companies where any and all can drive great work.

My Best Example of “Founder Mode” in Action

From 2018-2020, I worked in a myriad of roles at GitLab as it was in an incredible stage of hyper growth, growing from ~250 to over 1300 team members in that time, and four-plus years later, it is still the single best example of a founder-mode company that I’ve worked for. Sid Sidbrandij, CEO & Co-founder, wasn’t just a figurehead. He knew the product inside and out. He stayed up to date with the product roadmap. He edited the product roadmap. He’d jump into customer success situations. He’d join sales calls. And through all of it, he was constantly learning, openly admitting he didn’t have all the expertise. Working for Sid was an education because he was always learning himself.

There’s this weird thing that happens at some companies—these "skunkworks teams" that are supposedly created to solve a problem and then disband. Like, really? You don’t think there’s going to be another high-impact problem to solve? At founder-mode companies, you don’t disband the team after one problem is solved. You put that group of high-impact folks on the next issue. Sure, you’re always playing whack-a-mole. But guess what? You always have the right people working on the most pressing challenges to the business.

Founder Mode Is About Ownership and Impact

A few years ago, I started digging into what "Business Operations" really means as part of some career soul-searching. Some companies treat it like it’s just IT. At others, it’s data and analytics. At others still, it’s just the people who schedule strategic planning meetings. But in a truly founder-mode company, it’s a group of people who are constantly operating in Founder Mode. It is the people who are hopping into a problem- any problem- and working to iterate to a solution. A Founder Mode mindset is about everyone taking ownership and prioritizing impact and solving the problem above all else- above titles, prestige, or compensation.

Someone recently asked me about my proudest career accomplishment. After some reflection, I realized it was helping GitLab change their parental leave policy to be 25% more generous. I didn’t have kids at the time and didn’t start growing my family until after I left. I didn’t benefit from the change, but that wasn’t my motivation. I did it because it was the right thing to do. I had the opportunity. I made the business case, and I spent month and months and months pestering executives about it. That decision has probably had a more positive impact on people’s day-to-day lives than any metric I’ve ever hit, any model I’ve ever built, or any business review meeting I’ve facilitated.

The Downside? Founder Mode Will Ruin You (In the Best Way)

When I catch up with other GitLab alumni who have moved on to new, bigger titles and fancy promotions, I hear the same story: I was hired to solve this big problem, but the company is so slow-moving I don’t even know where to start. It’s not the size of the company that matters. Whether or not a single person can drive strategic impact depends on whether or not the company operates in Founder Mode.

On the day I wrote the first draft of this post, my husband sent Ranger Regiment Ruined My Life. My takeaway? Working for a Founder-Mode company will ruin you too. When you’re in a place where only operational excellence is tolerated; where people value driving impact, solving problems, and making a difference above all else; where any thing other than perfection is not tolerated; you’ll never be able to work at most jobs again. B-players? Sussed out quickly and shown the door. A-minus players? They’re put on notice. The only attitude is simple: Do great work or move on because people are counting on you. Is B2B SaaS the same as war? Obviously not. But the experience of working with the best of the best will absolutely ruin you for most work places since most places are mediocre. That’s universal.

Don’t believe me? Go work at a Founder-Mode company.