Thread by @JamesCurrier, 1/ Founder psychology is the greatest point of startup leverage during downturns. [...]

1/ Founder psychology is the greatest point of startup leverage during downturns.

Leading my own VC-backed startups successfully through the 2000 & 2008 downturns, I noticed 8 mind shifts of CEOs that excelled despite the crisis. https://www.nfx.com/post/psychology-winning-founders-downturns?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=internalshare-james

The Psychology of Founders Who Win in Downturns

We've found 8 mind shifts of Founders that survived, then thrived, despite downturns. A crisis wakes you up and gives you the white space to create.

https://www.nfx.com/post/psychology-winning-founders-downturns?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=internalshare-james

2/ Here are the first 4 mind shifts that Founders make to win in a downturn.

1. Realize That Your Own Psychology Will Make Or Break Your Company
2. Acknowledge That It’s Worse Than You Think
3. Move from Playing to Win to Playing Not to Lose
4. Embrace the Crisis

3/ Also, we as Founders need to go through the 5 stages of grief, and out into creativity once again.

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance
6. Creativity

4/ It’s freeing to understand how your mind reacts to crisis because it gives you a roadmap. You can choose to move through your adjustment quickly or slowly.

But quickly is better. Get on with it. https://www.nfx.com/post/psychology-winning-founders-downturns?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=internalshare-james

The Psychology of Founders Who Win in Downturns

We've found 8 mind shifts of Founders that survived, then thrived, despite downturns. A crisis wakes you up and gives you the white space to create.

https://www.nfx.com/post/psychology-winning-founders-downturns?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=internalshare-james

5/ At my first company, Tickle, during the downturn in 2001, the investors stopped coming to board meetings. They had written us off as roadkill.

We moved through our own grief psychology into creativity and got on with it - growing to 150M users & selling the company for $100M+

6/ The 2000 and 2008 downturns, were some of the most rewarding periods of my life.

Once you realize that your psychology may be your most important lever, the fog lifts.

Read our full essay for the complete set of mental shifts: https://www.nfx.com/post/psychology-winning-founders-downturns?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=internalshare-james

The Psychology of Founders Who Win in Downturns

We've found 8 mind shifts of Founders that survived, then thrived, despite downturns. A crisis wakes you up and gives you the white space to create.

https://www.nfx.com/post/psychology-winning-founders-downturns?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=internalshare-james

You can follow @JamesCurrier.

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