The negative capability of a startup founder and how it affects a new company’s driving force for growth

Applied psychoanalytical research

Abstract

Modern society is always undergoing incredibly significant changes that happen at an incredible speed and cannot be anticipated. The BANI concept has taken the position of the VUCA concept, which lacked enough time to fully manifest all of its attributes. No one can predict what the next acronym will actually be like. The corporate environment includes niches like startups, which were previously characterized by a high degree of uncertainty but now have "concentrated" almost all potential hazards. They can be compared, using biological systems as an analogy, to millions of fish eggs, only a small fraction of which will survive and develop into adults. Statistics show that only 1% of startups become unicorns, while 90% of them fail (Tyrkba, 2022). Nevertheless, startups continue to be the primary driving force of business development and remain in the spotlight. Private venture funds, business angels, widespread intra-corporate incubators, accelerators, and state development institutions will boost their investments in search of unicorns. In turn, the quality of the project expertise for investment leaves much to be desired. When it comes to making investment decisions, founders and co-founders of startups are frequently evaluated on both formal and personal grounds. Developing a negative capability, which is linked to crucial traits like the emotional stability of a leader and their team, as well as creativity and adaptability to frequent market changes, could help startup founders, who work in uncertain environments, become much more effective.