Einstein-vs-Bezos Founder Self-Typing
Know whether you build great companies or great ideas — then partner for the rest.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 2
- Confidence
- 68%
Fechter splits entrepreneurs into two archetypes: the company-builder (Jeff Bezos) and the idea-innovator (Albert Einstein). Both changed the world but in fundamentally different ways, and you must decide which you are. His recommended shortcut is reading their biographies to see yourself in one — saving enormous trial-and-error time. He self-identifies with Einstein, accepts he'll never be great at operations, and partners with people who are. Knowing this made him more successful because he spends his time where he's happiest: talking to customers and finding the next thing to build, not managing hundreds of employees.
Origin
Recovering from startup failures, Fechter read roughly 120 books in a year and found biographies especially clarifying; recognizing himself as an Einstein-type let him stop forcing operations work and partner for it instead.
Core principles
- 01There are two founder types: those who build great companies and those who generate innovative ideas.
- 02Jeff Bezos represents the company-builder; Albert Einstein represents the idea-innovator.
- 03Read biographies to see which type you are and skip years of trial and error.
- 04Once you know your type, partner with people strong where you are weak.
How to run it
- 1
Read the archetype biographies
Read biographies of a company-builder (Bezos) and an idea-innovator (Einstein) to see which one you recognize yourself in.
Pro tip Biographies let you skip a ton of time versus learning your type through years of life-testing.
- 2
Own your type and partner for the rest
Accept what you'll never be great at, position yourself where you're happiest and strongest, and recruit partners who cover the other archetype.
Pro tip Fechter stays with customers and product ideas and partners out operations he knows he won't excel at.
Watch out Trying to find yourself in influencers you follow is a substitute for the harder inward look you actually need.
In the wild
Fechter concluded he associates with the Einstein archetype, admitted he'd never be great at operations, and chose to partner with operators instead.
→ Knowing his type made him more successful because he spends his time with customers and product ideas where he's happiest.
Common mistakes
Looking outward instead of inward
People who don't know themselves try to find themselves in figures like Gary Vaynerchuk or Tony Robbins instead of doing the inward work to identify their type.
Is it for you?
Best for
Entrepreneurs deciding what role to play in their company and who to partner with.
Not ideal for
People who need concrete tactical steps rather than self-knowledge and identity work.
From the transcript
“there's an entrepreneur who wants to build a great company and then there's the entrepreneur who wants to come up with innovative ideas”
“you have to read their biographies to understand who they are and see if you can see yourself and that”
From the episode
Josh Fechter: Growth Hacker Marketing Secrets
Josh Fechter