Phil Kemp, CEO of Bruntwood SciTech, considers founder’s syndrome and how the successful have avoided it.
Innovation in digital tech often starts with individual genius.
There’s little initial requirement for vast investment, huge campuses, or a phalanx of professional advisers. The trappings that come with a successfully scaling tech business, for better or worse, will materialise with time. But in the early stages, intellect, drive, and long hours in front of a keyboard can be all that’s needed.
This sole ownership, where founders find themselves fulfilling every conceivable role and operating with complete autonomy can, quite frequently, provide the fertile breeding ground for an ailment that’s afflicted some of Silicon Valley’s best and brightest: founder’s syndrome.
The malady isn’t exclusive to the technology sector. But the creativity, drive, and single-minded enthusiasm required to turn a light-bulb moment into a credible product, are traits that predispose one to the condition. They’re also found abundantly in tech workers....