From First Principles to the Essence of Entrepreneurship: Why Founder Belief Is the Key to Success
In the world of entrepreneurship, people often attribute success to a variety of obvious factors—abundant capital, strong technical teams, booming market opportunities, and the backing of major corporations. However, when we apply “first principles” thinking to strip entrepreneurship down to its core, we find that the most crucial element is a founder who possesses unwavering belief and the courage to stake everything on their vision.
In other words, the fundamental determinant of a startup’s success lies in the founder’s deep-seated conviction and all-in commitment, rather than any cobbled-together assortment of external resources.
First Principles of Entrepreneurship: Returning to the Core
First-principles thinking suggests breaking problems down into their most fundamental parts. When we apply this to entrepreneurship, removing layers of capital, technology, industry connections, and marketing channels, what remains is a single individual—the founder. It is the founder’s faith, resolve, and willingness to bear risk that drives a project from zero to one, even when there are no products, no users, and no initial funding.
Why External Resources Are Not the Decisive Factor
From the outside, a company may appear to have everything—massive capital, strong corporate backers, and enviable resource configurations—leading us to believe it’s guaranteed victory. Yet time and again, the real world shows that without a founder who truly upholds the venture as a mission, these resources become hollow. Once hardship strikes, the illusion of prosperity shatters.
Consider the “star-studded lineup” of the Groupon era: the joint venture between Tencent and Groupon, blending a local giant’s traffic with a foreign pioneer’s experience. It looked like a match made in heaven. But what it lacked was a committed entrepreneurial soul. The CEO, backed by two powerhouses, should have been invincible, yet the team fell into a trap of mutual reliance—each assuming the other would handle the tough parts. Without anyone genuinely putting their life on the line, the moment the market winds shifted, internal blame spread, morale collapsed, and the entire venture imploded.
A similar story played out in the electric vehicle industry with Jiyue. Although giants like Baidu and Geely stood behind it, when adversity arose, the leader could only say, “Baidu is our main shareholder,” instead of demonstrating unshakable faith in the product and market. Without a core conviction, these vaunted resources rapidly lost their value. In contrast, the founders of BYD and the so-called “New EV Trio” (NIO, Xpeng, and Li Auto) went all-in from the start. Li Xiang, He Xiaopeng, and Li Bin had no massive injections of capital from Baidu, no mature corporate support. Yet they pushed forward, guided only by their steadfast belief in the future of electric vehicles. Facing technical hurdles and supply chain challenges, they pressed on relentlessly. Resources are important, but what stands out is their “succeed or die trying” mentality. This painful zero-to-one journey forged a resilient, ever-evolving team—while ventures built only on piled-up resources withered like hothouse flowers once their external support dried up.
The same principle applies to Zhou Hongyi’s attempt to replicate Xiaomi’s model through joint ventures. Although all participants were strong in their own right, none matched Lei Jun’s willingness to tie his entire fortune and personal faith to a single ship. Lei Jun, when he bet on Xiaomi, had no escape route—only forward momentum. In contrast, arranged players always have a fallback option. Once the cold winds blow, resources devolve into shields for mutual blame, and without intrinsic faith, the project stands defenseless amid sudden changes.
External resources can act as catalysts, but they cannot establish a venture’s foundation. Ultimately, what decides success or failure is that internal fire and point of no return. When capital and backing fall away, only those who have tied their life and destiny to the venture can rally extraordinary resilience in the face of crisis.
Returning to Simplicity and Core Logic
From a first-principles perspective, entrepreneurial success is never about how much capital, how many towering backers, or how loud the fanfare. Rather, it hinges on whether the founder possesses the unwavering courage to fight for their vision. When resources run scarce, this faith emboldens entrepreneurs to confront challenges. When the market turns turbulent, it drives teams to grope their way through the darkness. When competitors swarm like rising tides, this conviction prevents them from being swept away.
External resources may help you start faster, but they can never replace the founder’s spark. Only that unshakeable conviction, that “all or nothing” resolve, can forge enduring, robust competitive advantages in times of change. Entrepreneurship was never meant to be a mere stacking of resources; it is a long march defined by spiritual fortitude. Amid infinite uncertainty, the founder’s persistent faith and dedication are what truly guide the team through storms and into the harbor of success.
References and Inspiration
The insights and reflections in this article are inspired and informed by the following pieces: