Published on: September 25, 2025 at 3:27 pm
By Nick Keppler
In his 25 years of studying startups, Academy of Management Scholar Marc Gruber of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne has come to see entrepreneurs in terms of personality types and self-perceived social roles. He and his co-author Emmanuel Fauchart divide company founders and leaders broadly into three identity types:
- Darwinians, who seek to edge out the competition above all objectives,
- Communitarians, who see themselves as part of a group or a scene to which they deeply belong and to which they want to contribute, and
- Missionaries, who feel strongly that their company has a role in promoting a cause or advancing social change.
For investors, it may seem like the cash-focused Darwinians are the safest bet. But Gruber says that each of these types can provide something unique and valuable to startups, so that it is not necessarily the Darwinian venture that will generate the greatest returns.
Communitarians can be sources of innovation and outside-the-box thinking, according to Gruber.
“Sometimes they develop a highly innovative product, because they want to satisfy their own unmet needs,” he said. “And if that ‘unusual’ product is seen by others, they may want it, too … and over time a new user community forms.”
Gruber, who developed this framework partially through studying entrepreneurs in the sports-equipment field, gave the first snowboard or windsurf board as examples, as both innovations launch “mega-trends” and allowed the producers to grow significantly.
Missionaries might generate returns for investors more slowly because they prefer to reinvest and are hesitant to “squeeze” any part of their business practice. These sensibilities often work to create a more sustainable model. Thinking about gearing business strategy towards social benefit and sustainability often requires a long-term game plan, and missionaries have a sense of dedication that spurs them to resolve problems and keep the business viable.
The non-monetary concerns of communitarians and missionaries may create friction if shareholders and other stakeholders have more material concerns and focus on short- term profitability, but there is no social type that investors should avoid altogether, Gruber said. However, there should be a match or alignment between investor and founder type.
“I don’t see any problematic element in any of three identity types of startup founders and leaders,” he said. “It’s just that the management style needs to be professional to the extent that sufficient cash flow comes in to make the business survive and enable it to pursue its own vision.”
