I joined a hackathon, but I didn’t form a team. Am I too much in Founder Mode?
“Most founders who refuse to step out of this hyper-involved role, [aka Founder Mode], struggle to scale their companies effectively,” wrote Rich Hagberg, a psychologist and consultant, on LinkedIn. “Many burn out, lose focus, and create bottlenecks … clinging too tightly to Founder Mode can hinder, not help, long-term success.” -CNN
As a solo entrepreneur, there’s a lot to be done, especially when you’re building something intended to make big social impact. From idea to concept then development, and *hopefully* actual clients and revenue, there’s a lot to make a company sustainable, profitable, and an actual business. So why wouldn’t I take this opportunity to collaborate and hack away with others?
Alignment.
For two years, I’ve been incubating an idea, concept, and finally realizing it’s more than just potential. In August, I was selected out of nearly ~3,000 applicants to be one of the 14 fellows to pitch after 16 weeks of the amazing Watson Institute Flagship Fellowship. I won third place and had the honor of being a recipient of the 2024 Watson Institute Flagship Sistla Planet-Scale Fellowship. It was my first external investment, which I’m incredibly proud to have diligently, intentionally, and consistently worked towards for the past 16 weeks. It’s why I’m eager to build, but this road takes effort and acknowledging what's ahead—showing the WHAC. WHAC what?
WHAC, as is written on my heavily folded sticky note, is an acronym I heard during my research on pitching. Investors, stakeholders, and the very users you’re seeking to delight want to know the same thing but slightly differently.
What is it?
How does it work?
Are you sure you can make it work?
And can you make it work?
Investors are looking for authority, capability, credibility, and delivery, and users want to know the same. It’s why, as a solo founder who may, when the time is right, seek a co-founder, I decided to prioritize the WHAC even when it’s wacky.
The goal isn’t to be in Founder Mode or solo founder forever, but I decided to lean truly into the challenge during the Immersive Insider’s XR Design Challenge. Challenging myself to build even though I’m not a developer. Challenging myself to work without the headset due to scrappy bootstrapping needs and the intended user’s own access to equipment. Challenging myself to believe even more in my mission, vision, company, and capacity to make it work through the messy learning process.
That’s what entrepreneurship (and life for the most part) is all about. It’s about embracing the messy, learning, and doing it with more intention, self-awareness, and clarity the next time that challenge comes your way.