If you’ve ever worked hand-in-hand with a startup founder, you’ve probably noticed their almost superhuman-like ability to catch things others miss. Some of them might conduct regular exercises in order to pinpoint mistakes. Every single typo, every delayed response, every bug – no matter how small. They don’t just see these things; they remember them, too. That time someone promised to send out a follow up and didn’t? The founder knows. That feature that broke once but hasn’t caused issues since? The founder still checks it. It’s not because they’re petty or have nothing better to do.
The hyper-awareness, though annoying, is critical. Startups often exist on razor-thin margins, financially, operationally, and even in terms of morale. If a founder misses a detail, it’ll usually grow to become a crack in the foundation, potentially spiraling into something bigger. At larger companies, mistakes will usually go unnoticed or be absorbed by layers of process, but at startups, every detail has the potential to either keep the business afloat or lead to its demise.
When a startup is in the beginning stages, there’s really no room for error. Unlike the part-time software engineer, the founder knows that missing small details can lead to a ton of missed opportunities, lost clients, or even lawsuits. They aren’t micromanaging just for fun; they’re in survival mode. Every oversight could be the determining factor between another month of runway or shutting the doors down.
There’s also an inherent sense of accountability for the founder when it comes to every single person on the team and external “team” members: investors, employees, and customers. This weight means they have to be on top of things constantly. They can’t afford to let something slip. If a meeting starts late, it’s not just an annoyance – it’s wasted time which could’ve been allocated elsewhere.
When you’re an employee at a startup, it can feel suffocating to work under someone who catches every mistake. But the founder’s obsessive attention is often the very thing keeping the lights on for the business. It may feel like nitpicking, but it’s just precision management at its finest.
So, if the next time you catch your founder scanning through an email thread or pointing out some sort of minor detail, remember: they aren’t doing it to make life harder. They’re doing it because the startup is their baby and for a startup, the devil really is in the details – and ignoring the details can mean the end of the business.