What Drives You Can Also Give You Away

I've always been fascinated by what drives people in business. More specifically, what really motivates business leaders and founders?

In the advertising agency and ad tech world, there's undoubtedly an element of ego involved. Status, financial reward, recognition and the desire to build a legacy can all be powerful motivators.

And I'd be lying if I said money and status hadn't played a part in my own journey.

But looking back at my experience of building a business, I recognise that one of my strongest motivations was something less obvious.

THE FEAR OF FAILURE.

For me, it was almost a reverse strategy for success. Rather than simply running towards the rewards of winning, I was running away from the consequences of losing.

And that fear influenced how I approached my customers.

It meant going the extra mile, often well beyond what was expected, because I was determined to deliver the very best service possible. I didn't want to lose a client, because losing clients meant putting the business at risk.

In many ways, fear of failure became a powerful driver of customer service.

And I wonder how many other founders recognise that feeling?

Today, in my role advising founders across the agency and ad tech sectors, I see a wide range of motivations driving people to build and grow their businesses.

For some, it's ambition and recognition. For others, it's financial independence, the opportunity to create something different, or the satisfaction of building something that lasts.

And for some, fear of failure plays a significant role.

I'm not suggesting one motivation is better or worse than another.

But I do think our motivations can influence far more than our determination to succeed.

They can shape how we communicate, how we make decisions and, importantly, how we're perceived by customers, partners and our own teams.

I've seen founders who are single-mindedly focused on financial reward. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, but occasionally it can come across in their interactions with customers.

Advice can start to feel like a sales pitch. Recommendations can appear driven more by commercial opportunity than by what's genuinely best for the client.

And whether that's the intention or not, perception matters.

Equally, a founder driven by fear might deliver exceptional customer service but struggle to delegate, take risks or recognise when enough is enough.

Ambition can inspire confidence and bold thinking, but it can also become an obsession with growth at any cost.

The motivation itself isn't necessarily the problem. It's how that motivation manifests itself in the way we lead and do business.

What drives us in business doesn't necessarily stay hidden. It can reveal itself in the decisions we make, the way we communicate and how we treat the people around us. And sometimes, the way others perceive our motivations can be very different from how we see them ourselves.

So perhaps the question for founders isn’t simply, “What drives you?”

It’s “Are you aware of how your motivations influence your behaviour, and is that how your customers, partners and team experience you?”

I'd be interested to hear how other founders see this.