The Founder’s Vision Trap: Why Culture Beats Tech Every Time
It starts, as these stories often do, with a bold vision.
A founder has an idea — one they’re convinced is going to change the game. It’s innovative. Disruptive. The kind of idea that turns heads and opens investor checkbooks. Before long, there’s money in the bank, a team in place, and the runway to bring this vision to life.
From the founder’s perspective, the stars are aligning. The idea has been validated — after all, someone just put money behind it. Now it’s just a matter of execution.
But this is where things often go wrong.
Selective Listening
Founders are naturally opinionated — and often, rightly so. Vision is a core part of their superpower. But it can also become a liability.
When early user feedback starts trickling in, it rarely tells a clean story. Some people don’t get it. They find the product confusing or clunky. They don’t understand what makes it different. But instead of taking this as a signal, founders often rationalize it away:
“They’re not the right customer.”
“They just don’t get what we’re trying to do.”
“They’re too used to the old way of doing things.”
Meanwhile, a handful of enthusiastic users do get it. They see the potential. They say all the right things. And that’s where the founder’s attention goes.
These people become the north star — the evidence that the vision is right. So the team pushes forward, often building toward a future that only a small slice of users can see.
A Team in Tension
As an advisor, I often get pulled into conversations with frustrated founders. They're not seeing the progress they expect. The team feels slow. Resistant.
“Why can’t they just execute?”
“Why do they keep raising issues instead of building?”
“I need a team that’s all-in — not constantly questioning the direction.”
But when I speak to the team, a very different picture emerges.
They care deeply. They want the product to succeed. But they’re worried.
Worried the product doesn’t address a real need.
Worried users are confused.
Worried that leadership isn’t listening.
What the founder sees as resistance is, more often than not, a plea to be heard. A desire to make the product better. But in the rush to deliver, these concerns get swept aside — viewed as distractions rather than insights.
The Cost of Not Listening
Fast-forward six, nine, twelve months. The product is live. But it’s not taking off.
Users bounce. They don’t really understand what the product does. Onboarding is clunky. Features are hard to find. The experience feels unintuitive. Disjointed. Frustrating.
There’s no hook. No habit. No reason to come back.
And all the things the product and design teams flagged early on — the things leadership dismissed in the push to build — are now real, painful problems in the market.
The team saw it coming. But the culture wasn’t set up to let those signals break through.
Vision Alone Isn’t Enough
Here’s the thing: I don’t think we can “fix” this entirely. Founders are going to be founders. Conviction is what gives them the courage to tackle impossible problems in the first place.
But I do think we can help them reach a critical realisation sooner:
This is a team game.
Yes, you may be right about the destination. But your team is often closer to the ground — closer to the customer, the friction, the reality of the product. They have valuable insights you can’t afford to ignore.
And when you bring them in early, when you create a culture where ideas flow up as well as down, you build better products. Faster. With less wasted time, money, and morale.
Culture > Tech
I’ve watched too many companies with:
✨ Brilliant technology
🤖 Next-level AI
💪 Visionary founders
...fail because they didn’t listen.
The culture didn’t allow for debate. Dissent was seen as disloyalty. Feedback was viewed as friction.
And here’s what happens in that kind of environment:
→ Politics replace progress
→ Top talent leaves
→ Innovation dies on the vine
But when culture works?
→ Teams adapt
→ They solve hard problems together
→ They ship products that actually work for real people
Your tech stack might get you funded. But it’s your team that gets you results.
The Takeaway
Culture isn’t a “nice-to-have.” It’s your most powerful competitive advantage.
It’s what allows your team to move fast without breaking everything.
To disagree productively.
To flag issues early — before they become expensive problems.
To build not just the thing right, but the right thing.
So yes, have vision. Push boundaries. Build the future.
But remember: the smartest person in the room is the room.
Don’t just lead your team. Listen to them.
If you're a founder struggling with any of these issues, coaching is a great place to start. If you're especially struggling with growth, then check out my new book, The Growth Equation.