The Complexities of Identity as a Founder

How many times have you been having small talk with somebody, and one of the first questions they ask is, “so, what do you do for work?”. It’s a question we’ve all been asked at christmas parties, in coffee shops, in parks, and at awkward family reunions. In the modern working world, we’re seeing this enmeshment of identity between our personal and professional self more and more.?

Social Identity Theory and work

Separating ‘who you are’ from ‘what you do’ has always been a challenge. Social psychology seeks to explain this through Social Identity Theory (Tajfel, 1978). In summary, this theory suggests that our identities are formed and developed by the social groups we belong to. In terms of work, this looks like “I am a baker”, “I am security guard”, and of course “I am a founder”. The work based sub-group we belong to plays a big part of our identities - according to Social Identity Theory. This creates a blurred boundary between work and personal life, because a large part of how we view ourselves and our identities, is in fact our work.

Within entrepreneurship, some may argue that the enmeshment of personal and professional identity is even more intense. Founders have a deep connection to their start-up, because it is their baby, it is often their passion project, it’s the physical manifestation of their thoughts, ideas, and efforts. This builds an emotional connection to their work, some may argue more than the average worker. Founders often find purpose and meaning in their work, this alongside more autonomy means the separation between the founder and start-up they are founding is harder to distinguish.?

Having your founder identity and your personal identity blended can have its bright sides and its challenging sides, and it’s important to mention that there is absolutely no right or wrong with how you personally chose to formulate your sense of self. A blended work-personal life or a separated one is entirely unique to your and your choices. However, taking the time to reflect on where you currently are, and if that is where you would like to be may be important to align yourself with whatever stance works for you.

Individuation is the idea that the individuality of the self is separate from other entities- in this case, the self is separate from the start-up. In the early days of your venture, it is likely that you and your company will be enmeshed, and your identity is intrinsically woven into your work. However, as the business grows and develops it may be helpful to develop individuation and separate self from start-up. Let’s take a look at why…

The challenging sides

• When there are troubles in your start-up, you’re more likely to feel them more deeply and more personally
• You’re more likely to take work stress home with you
• You are more likely to take workplace responsibility as personal responsibility (therefore if you have to let people down in the workplace, you feel a personal level of guilt rather than solely professional responsibility)

Separating the start-up from the self

If you do want to create more of a distance between yourself and your start-up, here are some things to consider:

• Allocate (and prioritise) building a life outside of your business. Engaging in a unique hobby that has no relation to your work.
• Developing a skill that has no benefits to your work as a founder (let’s say developing your photography skills, or learning a new language that has no direct impact on your skills as a founder).
• Work on a project that has no links to your start-up. Maybe you want to do some home-improvement work that you can set yourself too, that has no relations to work. Maybe you want to begin a book club, or delve into your family history. Whatever it be, starting to work on a longer term project that has no connection to your work as a founder will give you another project to sink your teeth into, but one that aligns with your personal identity as opposed to your professional one.

You might see a theme emerging from the above suggestions, it’s about doing something solely for you as an individual for your own development rather than anything to develop your start-up.

I wonder…

If you were simply asked the question… “who are you?”.... What would your answer be?

Would “I am a founder” spring to mind quite quickly? Or is it an after-thought? How do you feel about that, and what do you think that says about your relationship with your work and individual identity? There is no right or wrong, and there is no correct way to formulate your identity… just simply food for thought and something to reflect upon.

So tell me…

Who are you?

• Dani Olliffe, Founder Wellbeing Associate at Founders Taboo