From: thepipeline_xyz
For early stage Founders, the concept of leadership is initially “completely out of question” [00:00:02]. A founder’s primary role is to do “literally everything” [00:00:11]. This counterintuitive approach emphasizes the necessity of being a “great soldier” first [00:00:14].
The Role of the “Great Soldier” Founder
In the initial stages of a startup, founders must take on all responsibilities themselves [00:00:35]. This includes:
- Coding [00:00:21]
- Selling [00:00:23]
- Even cleaning their own chairs [00:00:25]
- Dealing with lawyers [00:00:27]
- Handling accountants [00:00:30]
The advice is to “be a great Soldier” [00:00:38], meaning to gain extensive hands-on experience fighting “a lot of battles on ground” [00:00:44] before hiring others [00:00:47]. This direct experience teaches founders how to effectively hire “great soldiers” themselves [00:00:50].
Transitioning to Leadership
The greatest founders who eventually became leaders did so precisely because they were first great soldiers [00:00:16]. There is a specific transition period where a founder grows into the role of a leader [00:00:53]. While support for leaders is common [00:00:57], there is “hardly any support for people who want to become great soldiers” [00:01:01].
A “great warrior” is poised to become a great leader [00:01:08]. Conversely, a leader who has never been on the ground fighting battles is “not very great” [00:01:10].