ZUNZUNSTARTUPS
Dear Founders,
Through the journey of working closely with many startup founders, I have come to realize that self-awareness plays an incredibly important role in both the personal growth of the founder and the long-term growth of the startup itself. A founder without self-awareness will inevitably face dangerous blind spots—ones that quietly hold them back and limit their potential over time. In contrast, founders with strong self-awareness are always able to find better directions, improve continuously, and grow stronger through experience. As a venture investor, I always hope to partner with founders who truly possess self-awareness. So what exactly is self-awareness? How can we recognize it in founders? And how can it be developed?
What Is Self-Awareness?
Self-awareness is the ability to deeply understand oneself—what we truly aspire to, our strengths, weaknesses, current limitations, and what we still need to improve in order to grow further.
In the fast-paced world of startups, founders can easily get swept away by constant execution and daily pressure, leaving little space to step back and reflect. At the same time, cultural context and personal ego often make it difficult for us to confront our own shortcomings. Many people avoid self-awareness because it requires honesty, humility, and courage.
A lack of self-awareness often leads founders to resist feedback, avoid admitting mistakes, and fail to recognize where they are still not strong enough. Over time, this becomes a critical blind spot that prevents founders from reaching their full potential.
How Do Self-Aware Founders Think Differently?
When I meet founders and evaluate potential investments, I often ask questions that help reveal whether a founder truly has enough self-awareness. My approach is to search for the True Why—to dig beneath surface explanations and uncover the root cause of a problem.
For example, when trying to understand why a startup’s revenue fluctuates month to month over a long period, I’ve noticed a major difference in how founders respond. If a founder only shares external reasons—such as market conditions or seasonal factors—the instability and inconsistency of revenue growth often continue without real change. But a self-aware founder will dig deeper into the true internal limitations of their organization: weaknesses in sales execution, unclear product value, operational gaps, or structural issues. More importantly, they will take serious action to improve. This reflects real growth and maturity over time.
Another example is when co-founders or key team members gradually leave the company. A founder without sufficient self-awareness may quickly blame external factors or assume the issue lies solely in others: “They weren’t loyal,” or “They couldn’t handle the pressure.” But a founder with self-awareness will keep asking deeper WHY questions: Was trust lost internally? Was the vision unclear? Did leadership fail to align the team? Did the company no longer feel worth believing in?
A truly self-aware person does not fall easily into the trap of blaming others. Instead, they have the courage to confront uncomfortable truths, identify the real problem, and work through it with intention.
On the other hand, founders without self-awareness often become like a waterproof shield. Even if everyone around them can clearly see the issue, feedback cannot penetrate. No matter how much others try to suggest change, the founder cannot truly absorb it or take meaningful action.
That is why I believe that for someone to truly improve, two things are essential:
Growth Mindset — a genuine desire to grow toward one’s goals
Self-Awareness — an openness to look inward and confront what must change
How Can Founders Develop Self-Awareness?
Recognizing the irreplaceable importance of self-awareness, I have personally cultivated it through a habit that I have found extremely effective: Reflection. I practice reflection regularly—at the end of each day, each week, each month, each quarter, and each year.
As I have shared before in my thoughts on Growth Mindset, I approach personal growth through a simple two-step framework: Backcast and Breakdown.
Backcast means starting from a desired future goal and working backward to identify what must be done today.
Breakdown means dividing that long-term goal into smaller, actionable milestones—yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily.
With discipline, this creates consistent progress toward meaningful goals.
However, what truly matters is that founders with a real Growth Mindset continuously measure their progress, reflect honestly, seek feedback, and improve their action plans over time. Reflection is what turns effort into learning, and learning into growth.
In the rapidly moving startup world—full of noise, pressure, and endless activity—I believe regular reflection is not optional. Daily Reflection. Weekly Reflection. Monthly Reflection. Quarterly Reflection. Year-End Reflection. These practices help founders stay grounded, aware, and constantly improving.
These are a few heartfelt shares of mine on the importance of self-awareness and how it can be cultivated through consistent reflection. I hope these thoughts serve as a meaningful reminder for founders on the journey of understanding, improving, and growing into their full potential. Yeah, just keep fighting for it.