The Invisible Algorithm Trapping Your Thinking

Hey there,

It’s Yoela again. I just came out of a conversation that got me thinking deeply about how founders make decisions. Picture this: I’m on a call, listening as a pre-seed founder and a VC talk completely past each other about what it really takes to raise funding. But as I watched, I realized this wasn’t just about fundraising, it revealed something much more profound about the way we all approach decision-making.

The funny thing about watching smart people disagree? Sometimes they're both right. And that's exactly what makes this interesting.

Quick detour: Earlier this year, I saw a founder I’m advising make a decision that went completely against the grain. After raising their seed round, they made the unpopular call not to chase the next round of funding for two whole years (meanwhile they had the story and the numbers). Instead, they took the time to pivot their product into a highly niche vertical for specialized vendors that had really chaotic billing and accounting cycles. They ignored the opinions and built out a true moat in a fiercely competitive B2B payments landscape.

Their VCs weren’t thrilled. The decision was risky, unconventional, and certainly not in the standard playbook. But it paid off. That strategic focus not only made the business more defensible, it positioned them to stand apart in a crowded market and it turned out to be the very move that unlocked sustainable growth.

This got me thinking: How much of our success or failure as founders comes down to whose voices we allow to shape our thinking?

This awareness becomes crucial. There’s a popular idea that we’re the average of the five people we spend the most time with. But in today’s digital age, it’s not just people. It’s the podcasts we listen to, the newsletters we read, the Twitter (or X) feeds we scroll, and the AI-powered recommendations served to us daily. Algorithms aren’t just curating content, they’re reinforcing our opinions, interests, and biases, often without us realizing it.

And here’s the hard truth: the influences we let in can quietly shape the decisions we make, for better or worse.

Here’s what nobody tells you about decision-making in startups:

1. Your choices are only as good as your influences

2. Echo chambers are silent killers

3. In the digital age, “mentors” might just be algorithms in disguise

Let me break this down.

First, that idea about being the average of the five people you spend time with? In 2024, it goes far beyond your physical network. When I audited my own “circle of influence” recently, I realized how narrow it had become—an overly familiar loop of ideas, perspectives, and sources.

Second, founder echo chambers are almost always invisible. You don’t realize you’re stuck in one until you’re blindsided. I’ve been there myself; it cost me a potential exit in 2022 because I followed advice that sounded “consensus” rather than challenging it.

Third, here’s where it gets even trickier: the algorithms shaping your content diet are subtly shaping your decision-making. That podcast you didn’t consciously search for? The LinkedIn post that aligns just so with your perspective? It’s all curated to reinforce your existing biases.

As founders, breaking out of these loops isn’t just helpful, it’s essential. Because in a world of infinite inputs, the real competitive edge comes from choosing the right ones.

Here's my framework for staying sharp and avoiding these distorting biases:

1. Audit your influences monthly

• List your top 7 trusted voices

• Track their hits AND misses

• Review which advice you actually followed

2. Diversify your inputs

• Follow someone who’s polarizing but thoughtful; it’s uncomfortable, but useful

• Talk to a peer or mentor who’s unafraid to poke holes in your logic

• Deep dive into a book, article, or case study outside of your domain expertise or sector

3. Test your thinking

• Before big decisions, seek opposing views

• Document prediction vs outcome

• Review monthly for patterns

Speaking of influence audits, I'm curious about your own decision-making inputs:

The truth is, in this age of infinite content and AI-curated feeds, your ability to filter influences becomes your superpower.

So here's my challenge to you: Look at the last major decision you made. Whose voice influenced it the most? Was it really your own?

Happy holidays and here's to making clearer decisions in 2025.

Until next time,

Yoela