Why Every Developer Should Experience Being a Founder At Least Once

From starting a web development agency in Mumbai to managing engineering teams at US companies like Zillow and back to starting again in Mumbai, I've spent more than ten years pursuing both paths. As a result, I have a unique perspective on how the founder mindset can help you advance your career, change the way you approach coding, and land a position.

The Uncomfortable (but Rewarding) Shift

We as developers often pride ourselves on our coding skills. However, the transition from coder to entrepreneur leads to an important realization: 80% of the work involves understanding consumer needs, selecting products, and yes, even managing marketing, coding makes up only 20% of the work. This realization can be very unsettling at first as it challenges our understanding of our function and worth, but, you quickly discover that it makes you a more complete engineer while creating an impact.

We learn to make difficult judgments about what features to add to the product and even more about what to remove by doing user interviews and figuring out why people act in strange ways. Your path to becoming an engineering leader begins when you begin to see the wider picture and lead to actual product success.

What Changes When You're on Both Sides of the Table

1. Code Quality Takes on New Meaning

Then: "Look at this beautifully refactored module! It's a work of art! This code is clean and follows all best practices"
Now: "Will this code scale with our user base and pivot with market demands? Does this solve a real problem and can adapt to changing user needs?"

2. Feature Prioritization Becomes Crystal Clear: The Art of Saying "No"

Then: "This new framework looks awesome. Let's rewrite everything! It's a simple feature, I'll do this and that"
Now: "Understanding why that "simple feature" request isn't so simple after all. Understanding how this feature aligns with our core value proposition. Communicating technical debt in business terms"

3. The Full Stack Gets Fuller - It Isn't Just Technical

Then: "Frontend, backend, devops – I've got it all covered!"
Now: "How do our marketing strategies influence our API design or the rollout plan? Do we need to put it behind the feature flag, or handle edge cases? When to optimize for speed vs. flexibility"

The Unexpected Skills You'll Gain and eventually help you move up the ladder

1. Technical Communication Evolution

   • Moving from "how it works" to "why it matters"
   • Speaking business and code fluently

2. Decision Making Under Uncertainty

   • When perfect code isn't the goal
   • Making peace with "good enough for now"

3. User-Centric Development

   • Building what users need, not what's technically impressive
   • The art of MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

The Best Part? You don't need to quit your job to get a founder mindset.

Small ways to gain the founder experience:

• Build and launch a side project - Look at the products on product hunt or discussions and complaints on Reddit.
• Lead an internal tool development - manage the entire process, and do it alongside your day-to-day activities
• Take ownership of a feature from idea to implementation

Conclusion

Building something from the ground up and being in charge of its success alters your perspective forever, even though not every developer has to become a full-time founder. It helps you become a more comprehensive technology professional, not just a better developer.

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Would love to hear from other developers who've had similar experiences or are thinking about taking the plunge. Share your thoughts in the comments!