Every single founder gets imposter syndrome. Here’s why it’s good to be a “non-techy” in the tech industry.
Imposter syndrome is particularly rife among founders. It makes sense; you have to maintain a huge amount of self-belief in what you’re doing. You need total confidence in yourself, that you’re the right person to lead the company. You have to confidently explain why your service or product is worth paying for, over and over again. To investors, end users, industry experts and, probably the toughest critics of all, to friends and family.
There will be days when you’re the only one who believes in what you’re doing and that’s when you have to dig into that entrepreneurial grit to persevere and push onwards. That level of conviction is a resource and it’s why some people are made to be founders and some people aren’t.
However, with self-belief comes its skulking alter ego: imposter syndrome. Especially when there’s roadblocks. Lack of funding, lukewarm interest or service teething issues can throw everything off kilter making you question what you’re doing.
As a firm who works predominantly with tech founders, we’ve noticed imposter syndrome is particularly pervasive among non-technical entrepreneurs. They ultimately believe they need to have a background in tech to succeed in the space.
Well, that’s just not true. As it happens, a non-technical background has some real professional advantages. If that’s you, here’s a few things to remember when imposter syndrome does come knocking.
Non–tech founders can be more objective leaders.
Being intrinsically involved in the tech side can actually prevent growth and progression. It reinforces the belief you can do everything yourself, when really, maybe, you can’t. When you don’t have a technical background, you need to find the right person to make it happen. Otherwise you won’t be able to create your product or service and you won’t secure the funding.
It helps to know from the outset when certain roles aren’t for you because you’ll get the best person for the job straight away. Whatsmore, when you know you can’t do everything, you won’t do everything. The sooner you can give away those hats, the better.
As a non-tech founder, you’ll make great decisions in the early stages that will hugely benefit the long-term. Ultimately, you’ll be practising objectivity from the get-go and that can hugely, and positively, impact the trajectory of a business.
You’re in a better position to serve the business.
“Cutting the branch off to grow the tree” is a hurdle every founder has to overcome at some point, with some taking longer to make decisions than others. When it comes to important business decisions, non-tech founders are often more comfortable making them because they’ve had to do it from the beginning.
This mindset reaches into other departments too, like accounting, marketing and sales. You’re far more likely to find and hire a financial expert or a marketing strategist when you’re used to bringing in the talent.
Yes, it’s important to understand the different parts of your business, but you don’t need to be an expert in every area. You can save months of time when you have the ability to recognise, acknowledge and implement the improvements your business needs.
It means you’re going to make quicker progress, across the full breadth of your company. Having a global view is powerful because it makes your business scalable.
Founding a business needs a broad range of skills. Tech expertise is just one of them.
There’s very little room for imposter syndrome when you have good people in the right positions. If you have the ability to figure out what you’re good at, keep those roles for yourself, and outsource the rest – you’re in a very strong position indeed.
And the sooner you do that, the sooner those doubts will dissipate.
Highly skilled in strategy, forecasting and bookkeeping, our expertise is in managing the finances of tech start-ups and scale ups with a clear 3-5 year vision. If that sounds like you, head to our website to see how we can work together in the tech industry.