“Founder Mode” Vs. “Manager Mode”: Beauty And Wellness Founders On The Best Way To Operate Brands

Earlier this month, the headline on Tim Higgins’ column in The Wall Street Journal declared micromanaging is now cool in Silicon Valley.

Micromanaging’s sudden reputation glow-up comes courtesy of an essay by Paul Graham, co-founder of renowned accelerator Y Combinator, where he excoriated “manager mode” or the hiring of professional managers to scale up startups and praised “founder mode” or founders staying enmeshed in the details of their creations.

The essay was prompted by Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky’s recent talk at a Y Combinator event in which he recounts following conventional wisdom to assume manager mode, leading to disastrous results for Airbnb. Manager mode “is so much less effective that to founders it feels broken,” writes Graham. “There are things founders can do that managers can’t, and not doing them feels wrong to founders, because it is.”

Although Graham doesn’t define founder mode with specificity, one thing that’s clear about it is it’s largely associated with men, including Chesky, Steve Jobs and Elon Musk. Calling founder mode a “new buzzword Silicon Valley bros are frothing at the mouth over,” the publication Girlboss notes in an email that, “Women who participate in founder mode have been publicly criticized, canceled or ousted from their own company. Smells like sexism to us.”

Acknowledging sexism, Chesky posted on X, “Women founders have been reaching out to me over the past 24 hours about how they don’t have permission to run their companies in Founder Mode the same way men can. This needs to change.”

Diving into the discussion of founder mode versus manager mode, for the latest edition of our ongoing series posing questions relevant to indie beauty and wellness, we asked 14 beauty and wellness brand founders the following: Do you operate your business on founder or manager mode? What’s an example of how you’ve made decisions in that mode? What do you think Graham’s dichotomy is missing about the realities of growing a consumer beauty and wellness brand?

Katerina Schneider Founder and CEO, Ritual

As Ritual has grown from a small startup to a real business that is now doing hundreds of millions of dollars of sales, I’ve switched from “founder mode” to “manager mode” almost daily and even within the same meeting. Understanding when to tap into each mode is key.

I know that, at our scale, I can find great leaders who can do certain things better than I can. In those cases, it’s my job to operate more in manager mode to find the best talent and let them do their thing.

However, I believe there are certain skills or sights of vision that only founders have and it’s almost imperative to tap into those and be vocal about it. I’ve found that, when I don’t use that intuition, even if it could be seen as micromanaging, we tend to lose the plot as a business. In those cases, focusing on “let’s collaborate on this together” instead of “this is totally wrong and should be different” helps inspire the team and helps them to see your vision versus shocking them.

Women growing a beauty and wellness brand are often expected to toggle between founder mode and manager mode. You don’t get to choose between the two. Your personal story and identity are often intertwined with the brand, and in a lot of ways, that is the secret sauce. It’s the reason many people connect to your brand and want to buy your products.

You have to be the founder and drive the vision for the brand, but you also become the talent for ads and creative and become integrated into the creative direction. And then you have to switch back to manager mode. It can be draining. This is why it's critical that your leadership and your team see this and see that your founder mode and manager mode are both valuable assets to the future success of the business.

Rea Ann Silva Founder and CEO, Beautyblender

I operate in “founder mode.” In this industry, specifically as a small, woman of color founder-led brand, you must lead with authenticity. I have close relationships with not only my day-to-day team, but also directly with the consumer, so I have a pulse on what everyone wants and needs.

To be a great leader you need to be a good listener, being compassionate while keeping your eye on the prize. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to be open and honest with my team and vice versa.

One of the biggest challenges as a founder is the managing of different personalities and how those personalities don’t always speak the same language with each other. You must be open to be a conflict resolver so that people can get back on the same page.

An example would be when creative, marketing and product development have different opinions on what and how to approach what we are working on. By staying flexible and adaptable, I can better address challenges and ensure that our team remains aligned with our shared vision and goals.

Through these strategies, I strive to balance diverse perspectives within the team while maintaining a cohesive and productive work environment. It’s about ensuring that every department feels engaged and valued and that we all work towards our common objectives in unison.

Being the owner of the company, I need to be involved in all levels of decision-making. The role of a female business owner, especially in the beauty and wellness space, is all about listening to those around you and learning each aspect of the business that might not be your strong suit.

Jack Jia Founder and CEO, Musely

I operate on “founder mode.” Founder mode fosters constant innovation and a fail-fast mentality. This is the foundation for Musely to develop new solutions quarter after quarter and year after year.

Founders, and anyone for that matter, need to be grounded in understanding the core problem they are solving and generating insights and solutions. “Sleeping on the factory floor” is not a PR stunt, it’s the only way to find effective solutions.

This is similar to a homeowner dealing with a broken HVAC system. You can be a manager who empowers a salesperson to sell a $5,000 new HVAC system over weeks, or you can open the cover and replace the broken relay for $10 in 10 minutes. Innovation is not much different from this seemingly mundane example. Founder mode means rolling up your sleeves and doing it yourself (DIY)!

If your leadership team includes several entrepreneurial-minded individuals, you might be able to empower them to “touch and feel” the problems without the founders being too involved. However, they need to be in founder mode.

Ironically, innovation by definition is an activity undertaken by a very small minority. If everyone sees and agrees with the innovation, it cannot be that new or innovative.

Steve Jobs and a few of his lieutenants saw the future of iPods and iPhones while 30,000 Apple employees did not. Had Steve relied on them to save Apple, the company likely would have failed. In fact, Apple was struggling with hundreds of disjointed products and nearly ran out of cash right before Jobs returned.

Don’t rely on external agencies or experts to innovate for you. Innovation must come from within your own team, those who touch, feel, sleep and breathe on the problems day in and day out. They are the only ones who can develop effective solutions. Advisors can help broaden perspectives, but it is you, in founder mode, who must connect the dots.

In the early days of building our first set of medications in 2018, we needed to source key ingredients for anti-aging and hyperpigmentation. As a complete outsider, I feared my lack of experience and initially approached the process from manager mode, delegating the task to a senior executive who had hundreds of supplier contacts and 40 years of experience in building skincare products.

She managed to reduce the cost of one of the key ingredients from $150 at the Costco price to $30 with a volume commitment. A 5X reduction is normally significant, but needed more in order to create a business model with 80% to 90% gross margin.

So, we, the amateurs, took on the challenge ourselves and started asking a lot of questions. One thing led to another and not only did we discover the art of compounded medications, but we also managed to drive down the cost of this key ingredient by another 700X! This was one of our key breakthroughs.

Without being hands-on or “micromanaging,” we would have settled for the 5X reduction and missed out on the 700X savings. That could have jeopardized the company.

The dichotomy is equally insightful for the beauty and wellness business. Women founders tend to dominate this space more than men. Women tend to be more collaborative by nature than men, but this is not necessarily in conflict with founder mode.

Musely follows an 80% consensus and 20% disagree-and-commit principle. Founders and leaders need to hear diverse views before making a decision. We welcome all “stupid questions.” Logic and probability prevail in our decision-making.

The key insight from Graham’s dichotomy is that leaders, whether founders or not, men or women, must touch and feel the details of the problem before solving it. Just because you have 200 or 2,000 employees on the front line, it doesn’t give you, the decision-maker, the excuse to skip the details or to be disconnected from the customer experience.

Every executive at Musely must “eat our own dog food.” This is similar to how the Uber CEO must drive an Uber periodically. The previous Starbucks CEO, who refused to work as a barista when he joined, lost his job in less than a year.

Olivia Sawyer Founder, Kush Queen

I operate Kush Queen firmly in "founder mode." This approach stems from my belief that, as the founder, I possess a unique understanding of our brand's vision, values and community. Unlike a traditional manager who may step into a company and focus primarily on systems and delegation or data points, I stay involved in the day-to-day because I want every aspect of the business to reflect our core mission and the authenticity that makes Kush Queen special.

Founder mode allows me to remain hands-on, fostering innovation and ensuring we don’t lose sight of what makes our brand unique in the highly competitive space. As a smaller business, this is a much easier model to operate when compared to executing the same leadership strategy at a large company.

A great example is when we outsourced a product line. Many advisors suggested we should delegate the process entirely to the outside team to scale efficiently and truly off load the work. However, I knew that maintaining a close connection to the formulation and ingredients was essential to delivering the same product that built our brand and fostered long lasting customer relationships.

I worked side by side with the team to ensure we maintained the Kush Queen products to exact specifications and even personally tested the prototypes. This decision to stay involved ensured that the final product wasn’t just another item on a shelf but something that resonated deeply with our longest standing customers. This is founder mode in action, leading with passion and staying engaged with the details that matter most to our customers.

Graham’s essay highlights a crucial divide between founder and manager modes, but misses the nuanced challenges that women founders face, especially in industries like cannabis and wellness where personal connection and authenticity are vital for growing a non-traditional customer base.

For women, founder mode often involves navigating additional scrutiny and expectations. There’s a fine line between being seen as passionately involved and being labeled as controlling, overbearing or unfit for leadership. Unlike the celebrated male founders Graham mentions, women in founder mode can be subject to biases that question their competence or dismiss their involvement as emotional rather than strategic.

Moreover, growing a consumer brand requires more than just the strategic maneuvering of founder or manager modes. It requires building genuine connections with customers, understanding evolving market trends, and often challenging conventional business wisdom that doesn’t fit the unique demands of our industry.

For women founders, this journey is further complicated by the need to constantly prove that their mode of leadership, whether hands-on or delegated, is not only valid but often essential to the success of their brand. The realities of consumer engagement, especially in cannabis and wellness, mean that founder mode isn’t just a preference, it’s often the key differentiator that allows brands to thrive authentically in a crowded market.

Liz Folce Founder, Nakery Beauty

It can’t be one way or the other. You have to do both. As a business founder, you own the mission. You know the desired outcome better than anyone, and in you/from you is the origin of the heart and soul of the business.

You define the foundation of the culture of the organization. You have to be involved at the very basic levels of decision-making and action, especially in the early stages, but no business can grow effectively without added talent. You have to bring in people who can lead, drive, manage and direct in key roles. You find the right balance.

I’m not just involved in the final decisions about things that are foundational to the brand, I have to be involved in the step-by-step processes, product approvals, packaging design, creative assets, anything that ends up consumer-facing.

On the other hand, with well-established clear understanding and partnership from key team members on goals and objectives, the team has to take ownership of execution.

To think one way or the other is going to be the answer is a huge mistake. Leadership frequently requires you to lead from the front. It also requires you to know when it’s best to lead from beside or even in support.

Nora Schaper Co-Founder, President and Chief Growth Officer, HiBar

As the only female founder of HiBar, a mission-based beauty company that reformulates beauty and personal care into solid, plastic-free, high-performing products, I float between “founder mode” and “manager mode,” sometimes daily.

However, I primarily function in founder mode. Along with two male co-founders, it’s an interesting dynamic for our growing business that employs about 25 people, mostly in manufacturing.

Given my passion for product innovation and HiBar’s "beauty with a mission" mantra, I find that founder mode moves the company forward faster than with a hired manager, but it’s also about balance because keeping employees engaged so they feel some ownership and responsibility is really key. It’s also important to defer to others who have more experience or knowledge.

An example of founder mode is when we make a decision that could possibly damage an expensive piece of equipment because it’s been modified or we’re using it differently or when we try something new and ruin a batch of product. It’s risky, but necessary when you’re inventing new ways to formulate product. If something goes wrong, it’s on us. Once the kinks have been worked and it’s safe, then we’ll train employees.

To keep a startup business growing, a founder must discover the right balance between founder and manager. I do find that, as a woman, I can be challenged by my co-founders in a way that a man may not be.

While we’re all motivated to make HiBar succeed, and we all believe we have the right to make decisions, I’ve learned to state my ideas and opinions in different, more emphatic ways when we’re debating key issues. Also, could it be, as a female founder, I can move between founder and manager more easily? Possibly!

Lindsey McCoy Co-Founder and CEO, Plaine Products

To me, "founder mode" is only required if you can’t trust your managers to execute on the vision and mission of the company, and if the company’s only vision and mission is to make money, then I can see how things can quickly go awry when the founder steps away.

But if there is a clear, real purpose and mission for the company that managers are aligned with, then there’s no reason not to trust them, and if you’ve hired good people, they should only expand and grow the company thanks to their added experience and skills beyond the founder’s.

Samreen Arshad Founder, Samreen's Vanity

As the CEO and founder of a cosmetic company, I drive the vision and direction of the company while operating in "founder mode." I have immense respect for my management team's skills and grant them the autonomy to lead and execute their roles. This trust is developed over time, so initially, I observe closely from the sidelines while making sure they know I'm available if needed. It's a delicate balance between empowering my team to excel and staying engaged to guide the company toward long-term growth.

Recently, we brought a new social media head on board. I had a chance to connect with her before we made the final decision, but my CMO spent the most time with her, including interviews and onboarding.

Unfortunately, the new hire struggled to get along with the team and had conflicts with me and other executives. At the time, our CMO was on vacation with her family, so I chose to wait until her return to share my concerns and let her decide on the next steps. I could have acted immediately, but I wanted to ensure my manager felt her input was valued and respected.

Brian Chesky's ideas on founder mode are insightful, but they might not fully capture the complexities of running a business today. In our fast-moving world with tech advances, remote work and a focus on social responsibility, the old ways of thinking about leadership might fall short.

Today’s leaders need to mix visionary ideas with practical actions, using data to guide decisions and fostering a diverse and innovative culture. As we explore founder mode further, we should think about how it can evolve to meet these modern challenges and stay effective in a changing landscape.

Helena Lee Founder, Luvme Hair

I strive to find a balance between “founder mode” and “manager mode” in my management approach. In the early stages of Luvme Hair, I leaned more towards the founder mode. However, as the company grew, personal capabilities and energy became significant factors. If these cannot keep up, they can hinder the company's development.

As the company expands, I focus more on strategic directions such as company strategy, product design and marketing. I am particularly involved in product design, paying close attention to details because it's the foundation of our customers' trust. It requires a deep understanding of customer needs, extensive industry experience and familiarity with upstream production processes, which an ordinary professional manager may not have.

However, as long as the direction is clear, there are many professional managers who can handle daily operations better than I can. Professional managers tend to focus on the company's KPIs and may not prioritize the brand's long-term development, which often requires making short-term sacrifices.

For example, when Luvme Hair was deciding on our PartingMax wigs, using entirely invisible lace would have been very expensive and not durable. It could easily tear. So, I thought about what the customers really need. The front part should look natural and invisible.

By combining softer lace with invisible lace, we could achieve a very natural, invisible look while extending the product's lifespan and reducing costs, making it more affordable for more customers. I handle these kinds of detailed decisions, but when it comes to improving product operation efficiency, I often leave that to professional managers.

As a female founder, I find that Graham’s dichotomy overlooks the additional challenges women face when operating in founder mode. Male founders are often seen as visionary and innovative, while women may be questioned or criticized for exhibiting the same behaviors. This double standard adds extra pressure on us when managing a company, forcing us to make more complex trade-offs between founder mode and manager mode.

Graham’s dichotomy doesn’t fully consider how founders, especially female founders, in the beauty and wellness industry establish deep emotional connections with consumers. Consumers in these sectors often want to see the founder personally involved in building the brand, showcasing authenticity and vision. Therefore, in our industry, founder mode is not just a personal choice, but also a market demand.

Graham’s dichotomy oversimplifies the roles of founder and manager. In reality, especially when growing a beauty and wellness brand, we must find a balance between the two. I must maintain control over the brand while building a strong team to execute the vision. For female founders, this balance can be even more crucial, as we need to demonstrate that we can be both deeply involved and effective leaders.

Bobbie Cunningham Co-Founder, Fablerune

This idea of “founder mode” has really been a part of our ethos since the very beginning. When you start a company, you wear every hat, you make every decision. The path and direction of your brand is carved by those choices. Remaining as the decision makers is something we hope to hold onto, not from a micromanaging sense, but as a way to stay connected with our customers and employees.

Many modern consumers want to know about the founder just as much as they want to experience the products. They are buying a story, a mindset, a purpose, and if the founder is out of reach or out of touch, it translates into a brand that doesn't truly care about their customers wellbeing.

Our brand is centered around service. We have a deep desire to help our customers and that often goes without forcing a monetary transaction. Being a resource and a place for honest answers has helped us grow organically and build trust with our community.

When Fablerune rebranded, we had the opportunity to deeply embed ourselves into the process. Our customers want to see us and to know us more, so we got really vulnerable and worked within our community and our team to find out the best, most honest way to represent the brand.

At the time, stepping away from exterior product boxes, using darker colors and being transparent about our ingredients and process was unheard of in the skincare industry, but trusting our gut and making the decision to literally put an image of ourselves on the label of our bottles was a representation of how we work.

Our thumbprint is in every formula, every design choice, every hire, every phase. When you buy Fablerune, you are buying us and our reputation, and we take that very seriously.

As women business owners, there is always the pressure to “do it all” to “have it all,” but that doesn’t come without burnout. Having the strength to delegate tasks while remaining present within each step and phase of growth within the brand is incredibly important.

Angela Caglia Founder, Angela Caglia Skin Care

It’s not as easy to be in “founder mode” and respected if you are a woman. Period. Full Stop. What matters is “who” you surround yourself with on your team. Jeff Bezos and Steve Jobs were men obviously, and it was easier for them than it would be for a woman to keep being involved in such a passionate way.

As a facialist (a blessing and a curse), even though I have a business degree and certificate in cosmetic formulation, some people along the way I can sense wanted me to stay in the treatment room, which is only 10% of my time. My real passion is the day-to-day business activities. Those people wanting that happened to be men, and they are no longer working for my company.

I was the one who fired them, to their surprise. One laughed to my face when I told him a directive on how I wanted to pay a vendor first over ordering a slew of more LED masks, which wasn’t my brand vision anyway. I knew it was because I was a woman giving the directive, not my husband and business partner.

It’s important to have your management team aligned and, for me, I’m always a part of the daily workings of our company or at least at this stage. My husband is my partner, and I always say he has no ego with me. (Thankfully!) He doesn’t make big decisions without me, and he sets the tone as the male lead in the room. He’s now surrounded by female management with Ivy League educations with tons of experience in beauty, and it works very well. We are so thankful and open to having more men on the team in the future, if they are the right fit.

It took years to get here. My name is on the jar, and my child is AC Skincare, and it’s important to be a part of the vision on a daily basis. I purposely surround myself with people smarter than me with experience, but I’m a part of the process always.

We have been in business eight years, made it through a pandemic, had to rebuild, and we finally have people helping us now. Rob Carliner, my partner, and I have been learning and making the decisions all this time. We now have help, but, at the end of the day, we have the passion and know this brand inside and out in a way it will need to continue to scale successfully. I’m not shy about articulating my vision and mission with this brand with everyone I meet, especially people in my company.

It’s also important I support them and thank them every opportunity I see that they deserve. I am also here to motivate them to want to do the best for my company. I don’t take this lightly. I’ve worked for jerks before, and I want to inspire best performance and mental well-being with the chosen team. That’s really big for me as a founder. It’s all about being kind and respectful as a leader. You attract what you are.

Shaina Rainford Founder and CEO, Bask & Lather

I operate my business primarily in "founder mode" because it allows me to stay deeply connected to the vision and values that drove me to start Bask & Lather. In this mode, I'm focused on innovation, strategic growth, and building relationships with our customers and team. I find that this hands-on approach helps me maintain the brand’s authenticity and ensures we’re meeting our customers and community’s needs.

However, "manager mode" is also crucial as it helps me stay closely connected to my team and be supportive. A strong team is essential for driving and growing the business, and by delegating responsibilities, I can ensure our day-to-day operations run smoothly while still fostering a creative environment. This balance enables me to drive the brand forward while being present for my family.

In founder mode, a key decision I made was to introduce a new product line specifically for our curly and coily haired customers. I conducted research on the best natural ingredients to use for these hair types, ensuring they were free from toxic ingredients. Additionally, I listened to customer feedback, as many were asking us to expand our product line. This hands-on approach allowed me to innovate while staying true to our mission.

In manager mode, I was able to delegate tasks to every member of my team to make this possible, from production and label packaging to campaign rollouts, launches, photoshoots and video shoots.

After analyzing customer feedback and team performance, I collaborated with my team to create a structured process that streamlined our response times and improved satisfaction. This decision not only supported my team in their roles but also helped drive the business forward by ensuring our customers felt valued.

By switching between these modes, I can make informed, impactful decisions that benefit both the brand and my team.

Graham’s discussion of founder mode versus manager mode overlooks the unique challenges women founders face. Unlike their male counterparts, women who adopt a hands-on leadership style often face scrutiny, which can discourage them from fully embracing their vision.

Growing a beauty and wellness brand requires not only visionary leadership but also collaborative management. Women excel in fostering inclusive team environments, which are crucial for innovation. A successful approach blends both modes, balancing personal leadership with effective delegation.

Ultimately, women should feel empowered to lead authentically and embrace their unique styles without fear of criticism, leveraging their teams to drive growth and achieve their goals.

Ranay Orton Founder, Glow by Daye

Right now, I find myself more in "manager mode" due to the reality of not having a fully built out team. As Glow by Daye has grown, the demand for daily operations, team management and ensuring smooth execution of tasks has increased.

While I would love to thrive in the visionary aspect of founder mode, the current structure of my team necessitates a more hands-on, managerial approach to keep the business on track. This is especially important to ensure we maintain the quality and standards we've built over the years.

Recently, I decided to combine two of our products into a curated gift set, the Sweet Dreams Hair Protection Set, for the upcoming holiday season. While this kind of product development is something I would ideally handle in founder mode, where I can ideate and innovate freely, the current landscape requires me to balance between managing resources, adjusting product lines and responding to customer needs in a more structured, hands-on way. It was a decision and process based on practical considerations rather than pure creativity or innovation, which is characteristic of the manager mode.

Graham’s dichotomy, while compelling, doesn't fully capture the unique pressures women founders face, especially in the beauty and wellness space. As a woman and especially as a Black woman, there is often an expectation to be in manager mode rather than founder mode.

I’ve found that women are often seen as the ones who should keep things running smoothly, while men are celebrated for being visionaries. The reality is, balancing both modes is necessary, but women are often scrutinized for being too "in the details" or, conversely, not "on top of everything."

In my experience, the real challenge is not just switching between modes, but doing so while navigating the external expectations and limitations imposed on us. The ability to oscillate between management and visionary leadership should be seen as a strength, and this dual capacity is something women in particularly highly skilled at, even if it’s not always recognized.

Yaminah Childress Founder, Yany Beauty

I primarily operate my business in “founder mode.” Given the size of Yany Beauty, I believe that my direct involvement is essential to maintaining a strong connection with our brand's identity and ensuring that our vision is carried out consistently. While “manager mode” has its benefits, and while being in manager more for some time, I've found that for us, founder mode is the most effective way to maintain quality and alignment with our goals.

One example of how I've made decisions in founder mode is when I implemented a system of clear KPIs for our beauty advisors and aestheticians. Initially, I tried a more manager-style approach, trusting my team to meet sales goals and book a certain number of clients. However, I found that by taking a more direct approach and setting specific KPIs, I was able to ensure better alignment with our business objectives and provide my team with the support they needed to succeed.

While Graham's dichotomy provides a useful framework for understanding leadership styles, I believe it's missing the nuances of growing a consumer beauty and wellness brand, especially for women. Women often face unique challenges in the business world, including balancing work and personal life, navigating gender biases and building relationships with a diverse customer base.

These factors can influence decision-making and leadership styles in ways that aren't fully captured by the founder mode/manager mode dichotomy and will many times lead us as women to operate in a hybrid approach.

If you have a question you’d like Beauty Independent to ask beauty and wellness brand founders, please send it to editor@beautyindependent.com.