Forget 2025 Resolutions, Master This Founder Trait Instead

Hey,

It’s Yoela. December’s here, and right on cue, my inbox is overflowing with "How to Crush 2025" guides and "New Year, New Outlook" advice. But honestly? From my own journey, I’ve realized the real predictors of founder success aren’t tucked away in those mantras or motivational soundbites. I’ve been deep in my thoughts this week, so let’s skip that nonsense and dive into something more our style.

For me, 9 times out of 10, the success of my investments or personal ventures at 77Labs has always boiled down to one thing: how people (myself included) choose to handle discomfort.

Here’s the thing about discomfort: it’s not just a part of the founder journey, it’s the secret weapon that reveals whether you’ll win or lose. I’ve learned this firsthand, through every high and low along the way.

As most of you know, I’m all about creating frameworks and personas to make things clearer for myself and for anyone who’ll listen. So, while reflecting on discomfort this week, I mapped out five founder types that I’ve seen succeed based of what I’ve noticed over the years. The goal? To help you reflect, recognize your own patterns, and better understand the path forward.

Here we go—let me introduce you to the 5 Founder Types:

1) The Dreamer

• Lives in "what if" and big visions

• Uses setbacks as fuel

• Thinks "crazy enough to work" is a feature, not a bug

Discomfort Style: Usually they reframe discomfort as part of the journey toward their vision. Setbacks are seen as stepping stones, and they lean on their ability to imagine a brighter future to push through challenging times.

2) The Fixer

• Runs toward fires, not away

• Sees chaos as opportunity

• Thrives on solving what others avoid

Discomfort Style: They run straight at it. Discomfort is seen as a puzzle to solve, and they thrive in high-pressure environments, turning chaos into clarity with a hands-on approach.

3) The Survivor

• Adapts and evolves

• Turns setbacks into comebacks

• Gets stronger with each obstacle

Discomfort Style: They endure and adapt. Setbacks are fuel for transformation, and they use discomfort as a catalyst for growth, emerging stronger after each challenge.

4) The Rebel

• Questions everything

• Sees resistance as validation

• Rewrites rules that don't make sense

Discomfort Style: They question its source and use resistance as a sign they’re onto something. For them, discomfort is a signal to double down, break rules, and carve their own path.

5) The Builder

• Focuses on execution

• Stays quiet, delivers loud

• Makes progress while others talk

Discomfort Style: They keep their head down and keep building. Discomfort doesn’t derail them, it fuels their focus and determination to deliver results while others get stuck in the noise.

Not everyone fits neatly into these categories, and that’s okay. The real goal is to use trial, error, and experience to grow closer to one of these types or even a blend of them while navigating obstacles and learning along the way.

Let's zoom in on Sahil Lavingia (founder of Gumroad), the perfect example of a Survivor founder:

When Gumroad faced its major setback in 2015, Lavingia didn't just survive - he rewrote his entire definition of success. He:

• Went from 23 employees to 1 (himself)

• Rebuilt as a profitable, sustainable business

• Created a new model of startup ownership

• Turned a near-failure into a creator economy pioneer

After the layoffs in 2015, even though the team shrunk, Gumroad itself continued to grow.

People often ask which type I am. Honestly, I’m a classic Builder with a hint of Rebel. When the weight of the world starts pressing down, my instinct is to retreat into my nest and go heads-down for months, working quietly but relentlessly to prove to myself that I can emerge stronger. And when I do resurface, it’s not just to catch my breath—it’s to make noise, armed with new discoveries and ready to rewrite the rules or breakthrough the walls that once stood in my way.

One example that comes to mind is from my life MBA—a turnaround play in London that forever changed how I approach challenges. I was part of a team leading the acquisition and turnaround of a struggling jewelry operation in the UK. It was massive: 115 stores, more than 500 employees, and a complete system rebuild to reduce Opex by over 60% and make the business profitable for our fund. The stakes were high, and the processes I uncovered during my audit were unbelievably complex.

This wasn’t just a retail operation—it also functioned as a lender, offering loans on items brought in as collateral. At first, the stress was overwhelming. My KPI was clear: deliver measurable ROI and cut costs, fast. Everyone was pressuring me to focus on the "obvious" fixes: inventory management, POS systems, standard retail processes, automating reporting, the typical operational play. But something didn’t sit right with me.

Digging deeper, I realized the highest ROI wouldn’t come from fixing the basics but from addressing the core edge of the business: the lending side. The key was identifying and authenticating collateral—jewelry brought in for loans. Using scraped marketplace data and image recognition, I focused on authenticating items quickly, pricing them more accurately than humans based on condition and weight, and automating the KYC and lending processes. The faster we could issue cash, the higher the returns to the business.

This idea was met with skepticism, nobody thought it would work. But the Rebel in me knew it was worth the risk. For months, I went heads-down, laser-focused on building this system. And it worked. By narrowing our focus and doubling down on this edge, I was able to streamline the entire operation: firing the 120 person IT team, cutting bloated management, and consolidating around what actually made the business profitable.

That experience taught me something I’ll never forget: the real magic happens when you have the courage to question the obvious, trust your instincts, and stay heads-down long enough to make the vision a reality.

Understanding your natural tendencies helps you lean into your strengths while being aware of your blindspots.

So here's my challenge to you: What's the uncomfortable truth you're avoiding in your business right now?

• The idea that you’re letting die?

• The fluff that it’s in the way of finding the core problem?

• The product feature that's not working?

• The market feedback you don't want to hear?

Whatever it is, that's exactly where you need to focus. Because that discomfort? It's pointing directly at your next breakthrough.

Until next time,

Yoela

P.S. What's your founder type? Hit reply - I'm curious to hear how you handle the uncomfortable stuff.