Series “Blind Spots in Entrepreneurship”: Why startups don’t fail because of a lack of ideas — but because of what founders don’t see
Through coaching startups, KisStartup has observed a recurring reality: most startups do not fail because their ideas are weak, their technology is poor, or their founders lack effort. They fail because of familiar blind spots in founders’ thinking and decision-making.
We call these “founder blind spots.”
Why “blind spots”?
A blind spot is not something founders don’t know.
More dangerously, it is often something founders believe they already understand well enough—so they stop questioning, measuring, or validating it.
In everyday life, a blind spot is an area our eyes cannot see, yet the brain automatically fills in the gap, making us believe we see the whole picture. Entrepreneurship works the same way. When founders are:
- too close to the product,
- too emotionally attached to the original idea, or
- too busy with daily operations,
they can develop misplaced confidence and make decisions based on intuition, past experience, or personal beliefs—rather than real data and market feedback.
Blind spots rarely kill a startup instantly. Instead, they slowly push it off course, draining time, money, and energy until there is no room left to recover.
The most common founder blind spots
This KisStartup series focuses on the blind spots we repeatedly observe in Vietnamese and global startups, especially in early stages and during the transition from “idea” to “scalable model.”
Market and customer blind spots
Many founders believe they understand customers simply because they themselves are users. But “understanding” is not the same as measuring. Lack of systematic customer discovery, confusion between user–buyer–payer, or relying on polite feedback often prevents startups from ever reaching product–market fit.
Financial and cash-flow blind spots
Startups rarely “die suddenly” from running out of cash. More often, founders fail to notice deteriorating cash flow: rising burn rate, shrinking runway, and fixed costs growing faster than sustainable revenue. Avoiding numbers does not remove risk—it only delays and amplifies it.
People and organizational blind spots
“We’re a small, flexible team” often hides deeper issues: unclear roles, blurred accountability, and early hiring mistakes. Founders frequently underestimate the real cost of internal conflict and organizational distraction.
Product and technology blind spots
Some technical founders fall into over-engineering—building too much, too complex, for too long. Others launch too early with products that fail to solve core pain points. Both stem from the absence of clear learning criteria for an MVP.
Failure and pivot blind spots
Perhaps the most dangerous blind spot is psychological: reluctance to admit flawed assumptions, lack of a learning system from failure, and tying personal ego too tightly to the product. Many startups don’t lack pivot opportunities—they lack the courage and structure to pivot at the right time.
Who is this series for?
The “Blind Spots in Entrepreneurship” series is not meant to criticize or lecture founders. It is written for:
- founders building startups or innovation-driven SMEs,
- those who feel “something isn’t right” but can’t yet name it,
- investors, partners, and support organizations seeking deeper insight into why startups fail—and how to reduce that risk.
Each article will explore one blind spot in depth, with analysis, real cases, and practical approaches KisStartup uses in mentoring, training, and ecosystem building.
An open question for you:
If you had to choose the most dangerous blind spot for your startup right now, which one would it be?
© Copyright KisStartup. Any reproduction, quotation, or reuse must clearly credit KisStartup.
