FOMO

Also called Fear of Missing Out

Fear of missing out: the anxiety that others are seizing an opportunity you are not. In startups it drives investors to chase hot deals and founders to jump on trends.

Why it matters

FOMO fuels funding frenzies and can help a hot round close fast, but it also drives bad, herd-driven decisions on both sides of the table. Recognizing when FOMO, not judgment, is steering a decision is a useful check.

For example

Once one big fund commits, three others rush to join the round out of FOMO, and it closes in days at a higher valuation.

Related terms

FUD Traction Blitzscaling

Go deeper

See how founders actually handle this on Founder life, part of the Starting Up hub.

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