Building your leadership skills as a first-time founder

What kind of leader are you?

As a first-time founder, your answer to this question is incredibly important. That said, there’s no right or wrong answer. Approaches to leadership vary widely and are determined by a host of factors: personality type, industry, background, and more. 

But while every founder brings a unique approach to how they lead their company, there is a baseline set of skills, proficiencies, and tactics that can help you thrive in the role.

To help understand what some of these crucial skills are, we sat down with the CEO and founder of Capsule, Eric Kinariwala, to get his perspective on what good leadership looks like early on. As a first-time founder himself, Eric went through the growing pains of figuring out what type of leader he wanted to be himself, so all of his advice comes from lived experiences building Capsule.

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Finding yourself as a leader

Before you get into any leadership skill-building exercises, it’s crucial to find your footing and identify your style. 

Especially in the early days, you'll be bombarded with well-intentioned advice from many people in your network: your team, advisors, investors, and board members. While it’s important to consider their inputs—they have perspectives that you do not yet have—remember to stay true to your values and instincts. So if any of the advice you receive is incompatible with either, don’t action it just for the sake of it. 

Don’t shy away from feedback or honesty

Early on, having someone on your team who’s going to be honest and transparent with you pays dividends long-term. Surrounding yourself with people who agree with everything you say isn’t helpful for either your growth as a leader or your company’s vision. 

You have to have somebody on the team being like, ‘Hey man, what are we doing here?’

This person has to be someone you trust implicitly to provide unfiltered feedback. As Eric mentioned, "You got to have some people you really trust." But make sure that the way they deliver this feedback is compatible with how you work as a founder. In the end, this feedback can help you be a better leader and ultimately build a more resilient company. 

Don’t hire people and get out of the way 

As a founder, you’re on the hunt for the most talented, opinionated people who are going to make an impact from day one. But just because you’re hiring folks for their experience and perspective doesn’t mean that you should abandon yours once you bring them on board. 

“I think [there’s] misguided advice around, ‘Hire great people and get out of their way,’ which is effectively abdication, not delegation,” says Eric. 

Ultimately, as a founder, you bring a nuance and set of opinions that are unique to you and your experience. And while it’s incumbent on you to instill trust and autonomy in the people you hire, you also shouldn’t remove yourself entirely from the day-to-day. 

You're the founder for a reason. You have a unique insight into the world and how you think about the problem, the company, and the customer. 

In the end, it’s about putting yourself in a position to support your team and lean into your role as a leader. To do this, you need to acknowledge that your perspectives are invaluable, no matter how experienced the people you bring on board are. 

Understand that brand is more than just visuals and aesthetic

While many founders interpret brand to mean things like typography, creative assets, and landing pages, for Eric, these are all the most superficial aspects of your brand. 

“The core of brand is company values and operating principles. I think defining what those are early can really help streamline decision-making,” says Eric. 

Important decisions around hiring and building can all be defined by the values and principles you set. And every person you hire has the potential to either be a huge boon to the culture you’re building, or be a disruptor. 

“At Capsule, we have two values. We kept it really simple. Everybody needs some looking after sometimes. And second is winning together. I think your values have to be authentic to you.”

You have to protect your culture

While culture may feel a step removed from leadership skills, in many ways they’re inextricably linked. The culture of your company starts with you, so it’s incumbent on you to define and adhere to it. But for Eric, the definition of culture goes beyond hosting team events, company holidays and perks. 

Culture is what you reward, what you promote, what you reject, and what you punish. But I think this idea of what do you tolerate as a CEO can more than anything define it.

So, for example, if you have a history of tolerating negative behavior from folks across your company, no matter what you say your culture is, folks will start to question how committed you are to it. 

“You're telling me that we're all about winning together and accomplishing ambitious objectives and doing it in a way that uplifts others but you have this person over here who is getting things done, but they're abrasive. Should I believe the things that are written on the wall and the things you repeat at all hands, or should I actually just look at the observed reality of what you, the CEO, are tolerating?”

Eric’s advice? Practice what you preach and, in this situation, you need to weed those folks out. 

“You have to move those people out pretty quickly if they are in any way, not living and operating, and showing up in accordance to what the company's values are.”

Be willing to adapt

In the end, you should expect your leadership style to change as you grow more experienced as a founder. 

And, in reality, different stages of a company require different types of leadership. As Eric notes, being adaptable and developing new skills to meet these changing needs is critical.

Most importantly? 

Actively seek out feedback from your team and be willing to adapt. 

“Some of it is, ‘Can I get better at the thing I'm doing now?’ And some of it is, ‘The company needs a different kind of leader right now. Do I have those skills? Can I develop those skills? How do you build the complete toolkit for being able to solve or attack or lead in any situation.’”

Note: This content is for informational purposes only. It doesn't necessarily reflect the views of Rho and should not be construed as legal, tax, benefits, financial, accounting, or other advice. If you need specific advice for your business, please consult with an expert, as rules and regulations change regularly.

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