The founder matters more than the company in the early days

You aren't building a startup. You're building yourself.

I didn’t realize this when I first started Jotform. But as the product began to gain momentum, it became clear its growth depended on my growth.

In the end, building features is nothing compared to building resilience. Testing landing pages pales in comparison to testing your vision. And hiring the right people? Crucial, but not as crucial as developing your own leadership.

Build yourself first — your abilities, your knowledge, your resilience. The rest will follow.

Your startup as a reflection of you

The first thing to understand is that your startup is a reflection of you.

Especially in the beginning, your startup mirrors your values, strengths, and your weaknesses. For me, I knew my strengths were in product development, not in sales. So, I focused on building a product that could stand on its own, something that users could adopt without needing a hard sales pitch.

I did that by spending months on the customer support front lines, answering every inquiry personally. This wasn’t just about solving user issues; it was about understanding exactly how people were interacting with the product.

This benefited me even more than the company. And it just so happens that it also encoded my customer-first mindset into the business.

How to grow so your company can thrive

If your business is a reflection of you, then it’s important to grow your capacity. It’s the only way for your business to grow. Here’s how:

1. Embrace bootstrapping

One of the best things about bootstrapping is that it pretty much forces you to learn. I had to dive deeply into every area of my business, mastering everything from product management to customer support, and even HR.

Plus, without external pressure to scale rapidly, I had the luxury of time to develop both the product and myself as a leader.

2. Learn to let go

As Jotform expanded, one of the hardest lessons — and growth edges — I had to learn was the art of letting go. As the company grew, it became clear that holding onto every task wasn’t sustainable. For Jotform to scale, I needed to trust others to take on roles that I had always managed myself. This wasn’t just about delegation. It was about recognizing that the company’s growth depended on my ability to step back and empower others to contribute.

This shift from being hands-on in every task to leading and inspiring others was directly linked to my personal growth. I wouldn’t have been able to become a confident leader — speaking to my employees and guiding them — if I hadn’t worked on improving myself from the start.

3. Cultivate curiosity

Curiosity is a driving force for personal growth. You have to ask questions, learn new things, and listen to different points of view. For me, this meant reading a lot. Books became my main teachers, and they still are today.

I used to grab a book and turn to a random page whenever I found myself stuck in a problem. Invariably, before long, I'd be struck with an idea or find a tip that would be the exact answer I needed.

4. Build and lean on your community

Success isn't something you achieve on your own. Build a community of people and mentors who can help you, keep you on track, and provide fresh insights. Having a community like this will offer you support and help you feel less alone.

For me, this started with my first employee, Serkan. We spent many hours talking about Jotform, coming up with ideas, and shaping our vision. Serkan was more than an employee; he was my partner in shaping Jotform’s direction.

5. Experimenting relentlessly

I’ve always seen Jotform as a laboratory for ideas. I never waited for perfect plans; instead, I embraced experimentation. Whether it was trying out new product features, different management styles, or innovative marketing strategies, I wasn’t afraid to take risks.

Each one of these business experiments has helped me grow. And I use the same approach on myself.

6. Take the leap

Ultimately, growth comes from action. You have to take the leap even when the outcome isn’t certain — whether it’s launching a new product, stepping back to let your team lead, or pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. For me, one of those leaps came after more than a decade of running Jotform when I decided to launch an enterprise version. It was a significant undertaking, far outside my comfort zone, and full of trial and error. But that leap paid off — today, Jotform Enterprise accounts for over 30% of our revenue. This taught me that real growth often comes from those moments when you push yourself and your company beyond what feels comfortable.

7. Take care of yourself

Sure, burning out can teach you valuable lessons. We grow from our failures, after all. But I prefer to take care of myself, and I find that my growth as a founder and leader accelerates when I’m in a good place physically and mentally.

The road to transformation

Looking back, I can see clearly now that every challenge — whether it was handling customer support or managing our expanding team — wasn't just about solving problems. It was about learning and improving both on a personal and professional level.

This personal evolution wasn’t just parallel to Jotform’s success; it was the driving force behind it. Today, with over 25 million users and a team of more than 650 employees across five countries, two things are clear:

1. Jotform grew because I grew.
2. And then I grew because Jotform grew.

No product can thrive unless its founder does too.