Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt Can Be Founder Superpowers

Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt. As a founder, it’s easy to believe these feelings are weaknesses. They lay the foundation of imposter syndrome.

But when properly channeled, fear, uncertainty, and doubt are founder superpowers.

They help you find the path to profitable, scalable growth. They allow you to stay in control of your startup’s destiny.

I’ll prove it by showing you the opposite — founder hubris.

The Cautionary Tale of Founder Hubris: The Messenger

The Messenger, a digital media startup, launched on May 15, 2023. It launched with bold proclamations and wheelbarrows of investor money.

• Before it even launched, the startup had raised $50 million from experienced investors and digital media leaders who certainly understood the challenges of the current digital media landscape.
• The Messenger launched with 200 employees and stated it would aggressively move to hire another 500 to staff nine verticals of coverage.
• The executive team boldly proclaimed that the startup would deliver $100 million in revenue in 2024, mostly from digital advertising. 

Those of us with experience in the digital media industry greeted this launch with skepticism. They were chasing a tired business model that had already been the death of many VC-backed media startups before them.

But these founders were unbowed. They were confident and had the cash to amplify their confidence for all to see. 

Last week, less than a year after launching, The Messenger abruptly shut down. The website went dark. Employees were terminated with no severance.

2023 revenue was only $3 million. All of that investor cash was gone. They had made so little progress toward their $100 million goal that no investor was willing to provide a lifeline.

The “business” wasn’t even worth acquiring for a nominal sum to preserve whatever had been built.

Startups fail all of the time. That’s not what makes this story relevant to this post.

The hubris of the founders and investors caused this spectacular flameout.

Their bold proclamations, rapid pace of hiring, and the huge round of initial funding suggested no doubt that their strategy might be wrong. They showed no uncertainty in their accelerated rollout to ensure they were on the right track. Worst of all, they showed no fear that if they were wrong, employees would suffer, and investors would be left with nothing.

Harnessing your founder superpowers

Fear, uncertainty, and doubt can be powerful allies on your startup journey.

Fear keeps us safe when we approach danger. Fear reminds us of the stakes while we stare at the risks ahead. It shouldn’t keep us from taking action or lead to panic. Fear ensures you take considered, measured steps that mitigate those risks.

Uncertainty encourages testing and experimentation every step of the way. Who are your customers? Does your product fulfill a need? Will they love your product so much that they keep coming back? Will they pay a reasonable price? You don’t know the answers to these questions, so you test to find out.

Doubt forces you to pause at each key decision point. You take a beat to review the data so far. You ask your team to confirm the metrics that will define success or failure once you’ve made a choice. You ensure that your decision isn’t etched in stone. If you’re wrong, you leave yourself the time and money to pivot to try again.

Founder hubris is the weakness.

The failure of The Messenger is a timely reminder.

Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt. These can be founder superpowers.

You’re not an imposter as these feelings course through your veins.

You’re a thoughtful leader, doing hard things you’ve never done before while giving you and your team the greatest chance for success.

You’re staying in control of your startup’s destiny.