International Keynote Speaker | LinkedIn Top Voice | Best-selling Author | London Business School Lecturer | Serial Entrepreneur | nexxworks Co-Founder
What a year 2024 has been! Belgian unicorns like Odoo and Lighthouse made impressive strides, showing that a small country can dream big. At the same time, we also witnessed painful examples of how quickly things can go wrong: Intel, a once-iconic leader in the tech industry, completely lost its footing and spiraled into a free fall. However controversial, "founder mode"—the hands-on, all-in leadership style—proved its power this year. For me, Mark Zuckerberg is the prime example of that: after his metaverse/VR flop, he pivoted with a razor-sharp focus on AI. And Meta came roaring back, with its value soaring by over 90%. For me, this underscores that in times of disruption, strong, visionary leadership is indispensable. 2024 felt like a grand cru year for technology, but the real key to success lies in how leaders tackle challenges. Founder mode may not always be the popular choice (from a human perspective, for instance), but it undeniably makes a difference. Read my newest (Dutch) op-ed on the matter in De Tijd (link in the comments).
Always interesting to read your articles, Peter. Zuckerberg’s move is certainly bold, but I can’t fully agree with that one line: "after his metaverse/VR flop..." 😅 As if he suddenly did a complete 180, right? Three out of the six biggest announcements at Meta Connect this past Sept are still 100% aligned with his 'Metaverse/VR/AR' vision—a roadmap that actually started back in 2012. AI is a means to an end—a superpower that leads to impressive new products and services while also accelerating the evolution of XR hardware and software. It’s true that Zuckerberg went all-in on the metaverse a bit too quickly. But his vision of the metaverse has been largely taken out of context. If you revisit the video from the name-change event where he laid out his metaverse vision, you’ll see it goes far beyond cartoony avatars in 3D-simulated worlds. He described it as "a new virtual world to explore and a new dimension overlaying the old one. An embodied version of the internet where you’re in the experience, not just looking at it." As you often say, "It all happens gradually, and then suddenly." AI is making that "suddenly" arrive even faster, fueling what he still refers to as 'metaverse products.' https://shorturl.at/WZ96c
I’m in line with Pieter Van Leugenhagen here. AI is a spicy ingredient that will be added to many dishes, but it’s rarely something that will exist on its own. The biggest thing by Meta this year was their unveiling of their Orion AR glasses. That, and their Rayban approach, show you where this is all going to end up. The VR part is a great way to build content and community. But once AR glasses are consumer ready, als those digital islands will become one big entity. I don’t think that Zuck’s Horizon Worlds is going to be where the action is (they tried to do Roblox for late teens and adults, and it failed), but it’ll be a massive AR cloud connected to a whole lot of other digital stuff.
Founders don’t live forever. Can non-founder CEO’s find the switch to the founder mode?
While the focus on unicorns like Odoo and Lighthouse is inspiring, I find it regrettable that zebrabusinesses rarely get the same attention. Zebras prioritize resilience, community, and long-term impact over rapid growth at any cost. They represent a sustainable and balanced approach to business, addressing real-world challenges with a collaborative mindset. As we celebrate impressive strides in the tech industry, let’s also shine a light on the companies that quietly build a better future for everyone. Zebras deserve a seat at the table 🦓
Jasmine Lana
1w
Nice read Peter, but it’s worth noting that Zuckerberg’s ability to pivot so drastically came from a position of immense financial and structural advantage. Meta didn’t just have a “pile of cash." It had a massive user base, deep technical talent, and an established market presence. While your post might be suggesting that “founder mode” is what enabled this shift, one could argue that almost any leader with Meta’s war chest, existing infrastructure, and network effects could have pulled off a pivot. The comeback wasn’t just about visionary leadership; it was also about being positioned in an industry where capital, data, and massive scale give you a substantial safety net to experiment and course-correct...my 2 cents ;-)
thanks Peter Hinssen, aside Odoo and Lighthouse, also Collibra, Team.Blue and Deliverect are the other great Belgian unicorns of course. But... it starts to look as if big tech is already going for the rewards with AI become as expensive as other big tech cloud subscriptions https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/5/24314147/openai-reasoning-model-o1-strawberry-chatgpt-pro-new-tier
Carlo Schupp
1w
As a founder-CEO, Zuckerberg has indeed demonstrated resilience and the ability to innovate or pivot his company through various challenges ranging from privacy activism, regulator scrutiny, to anti-monopoly pressure. Much like a phoenix. For non-founder CEO’s, the question is indeed: do they have this type of resilience, perseverance and strong belief in their vision?
I think you've perfectly captured the contrasting fortunes in tech this year.The points about founder mode and leadership are spot on 👏 👏 👏
Love your summary Peter Hinssen and agree on that "2024 felt like a grand cru year for technology". Though on top of my wish-list to Santa this year is all about making 2025 to the "grand cru year for harvesting business value from (old & new) tech".. 🎅🥅
International Keynote Speaker | LinkedIn Top Voice | Best-selling Author | London Business School Lecturer | Serial Entrepreneur | nexxworks Co-Founder
1wRead the full article here: https://www.tijd.be/opinie/column/peter-hinssen-mijn-woord-van-het-jaar-founder-mode/10577854.html