Founder's syndrome

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Founder's syndrome is a label normally used to refer to a pattern of negative or undesirable behavior on the part of the founder(s) of an organization. The term is anecdotal/unofficial and does not actually refer to a medical syndrome. Founder's syndrome is most often associated with non-profit organizations especially those where there has only been one person leading the organization or the board of directors since its inception. The syndrome can affect for-profit organizations, but enterpeneurial activities necessarily revolve around an individual or group and tend to continue so as long as the founder or group is able to compete effectively in the commercial world.

This phenomenon often occurs after the initial growth of an non-profit organization, when its mission evolves beyond what its founder originally had in mind; this creates conflict between newcomers, who want the organization to adapt, and the founder, who wants to keep things the way they were.