The Surprising Decisions That Make or Break Founder Credibility in Your First Two Years
Admit what you don’t know and show how you’re learning
There’s this temptation, especially when you’re trying to establish credibility, to project total confidence and expertise in everything. It’s a trap. People can smell fake confidence from a mile away, and nothing erodes trust faster than realizing someone has been bluffing.
One of the most credibility-building moments in my early writing career came when I published a piece where I got something wrong. I had referenced a study about habit formation, but I misunderstood one of the key findings. A reader called it out, politely but firmly. I had two choices: get defensive or own it. I chose to own it, published a correction, and explained what I’d learned from digging deeper into the research.
