Founders are important to a company in many ways. One of their most critical responsibilities is to define the company’s vision. The vision may change overtime. That’s fine. But a company needs to have a clearly defined vision at any time. All people in the team may not be 100% onboard with the vision. That’s fine too. 90% or 80% is good enough.
Imagine the vision is a pathway and a timeline. At the very beginning, the founders interview every new hire very carefully. They make sure these people know what the company is doing and they’re fully onboard with the vision. These people drive the company forward.
When the team gets bigger, it’s harder to get everybody completely agreed on the same idea. Some will partially agree. As long as they commit to the idea, it’s fine.
When the business is stable, the company gets even bigger (for better or for worse), only the few key persons are aligned with the vision.
It’s just an untested theory. I hope it can help founders set the right expectations to the people they hire. It’s also worth noting that no one can set the vision for the founders. They have to do it for themselves, especially when the company just starts.