Founder-Problem Fit is when a founder’s personal why aligns with their startup’s why. It’s the belief that they are the right person for the problem and it’s the right problem for them. It's of the only things that matter in both the short-term and long-term of company building.
The Origins of Founder-Problem Fit
🗝️ The three key people here are Paul Graham from YC, Roelof Botha from Sequoia, and Simon Sinek author of Start with Why.
Paul Graham in his article “How to Get Startup Ideas” talks about how would-be founders shouldn’t pursue startup ideas. Startup ideas choose their founders.
PG implies being open to noticing ideas instead of finding them. Having the problem yourself will make you more likely to notice it, therefore have better hunches as you move in uncharted territory trying to solve it.
The term was finally popularized by Roelof Botha, Partner at Sequoia and Board Member of dozens of companies including Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, and MongoDB.
He says that Founder-Problem Fit is a situation where the founder is fully committed to solving a hard problem. The commitment is so much that the founder can overcome any obstacle to make their idea work, nonetheless of the struggle required.
Why Alignment
This concept of why was popularized by Simon Sinek, who describes it as “the sum total of who you are and what you came to earth to do”.
When a founder has Founder-Problem Fit, we can say they have Why Alignment with their startup. For better or for worse (we’ll see this later) their identity and their startup identity merge.
It’s a complete overlap between the startup’s mission and the founder’s personal mission.
It’s a complete belief that if the startup fails, you fail as a person.
If the startup succeeded, you succeeded.
Harsh, I know, that’s what makes startup building a personal rollercoaster.
Why Founder-Problem Fit is important.
Founder-Problem Fit non-negotiably decreases the chances of a founder giving up but increases the level of sentimental rollercoaster-ness of the startup.
As an investor, you want to invest in founders and companies with FPF. You’re betting on someone who eats, sleeps, and breathes what they're doing. Which all things considered, is maybe a “safer” bet (they won’t give up when others do + they’ll have better hunches in unknown moments) and it’s arguably more fun to work with someone passionate and energized.
Team members will be much more motivated to follow someone who is the startup, someone who fully believes in what they are doing, rather than someone who’s somewhat into it.
My thinking is that we’re only here for a short amount of time, so it’s only worth doing the thing you love and obsess about, and if you do that as a founder, you can create something meaningful and have an impact at scale.
Founder-Market Fit vs Founder-Problem Fit
A much more common term is Founder-Market Fit, which means that the person building the startup has a deep knowledge and experience of the market they are targeting.
Investors tend to focus on this aspect, because yes it is an advantage, but in the short-term. The difference with Founder-Market Fit is that you can learn about a market, but you can’t teach yourself to be driven by the problem you are solving nor teach yourself how to have certain hunches.
How to know if you have Founder-Problem Fit
I can’t describe it but I know it when I see it.
For me, it’s loving what I’m doing, obsessing over the problem and customers, and waking up and going to sleep thinking of the problem.
You could think “I have no idea what I’m here on earth to do, but it has a lot to do with this [referencing startup]”.
It should seem like play to you and look like work to others.
Conclusion
Being in the position of starting a company, essentially trying to build the future you imagine, is an extreme privilege.
Do something you love, do it with all your heart, and aim to create the greatest possible impact. The journey should be unconventional and uncharted, so follow your gut.
At the end of the day, it’s a balancing act:
There are pros and cons to giving a shit and tying your identity to your startup. The highs are higher, and the lows are lower.
Obsessing over what you’re doing can make you move quickly, and do unconventional things that feel right, which can ultimately help your startup win. Taken to the extreme, you can also lose your friends and partner, disregard your family, ignore your health, etc. Which will make you lose.
Enjoy the back and forth, and build something meaningful.
Best,
Andrés