“I don’t want to be the smartest person in the room anymore”: LaunchX CEO/dad Forest Richter on leadership hubris, being friends with your team, and giving tough feedback.

We all know that great leadership can make or break a startup. My name is Rachel, I am a LaunchX 2020 alum, two-time founder, and now Creative Specialist at LaunchX. One reason I jumped at the chance to work with LaunchX over the past six months (and the next six months as well) was to learn more about leadership and scaling up a company, so I wanted to pick the brain of none other than LaunchX dad and CEO himself Forest Richter.

Forest describes himself as a “startup operator,” a role that fuses his passion for early-stage hustle with operational expertise. Joining LaunchX marked a significant step, where his high-energy approach initially left some skeptical. “During my interviews, the team thought my energy was fake,” Forest recounts with a laugh, “but it’s genuinely because I love startups.” I can confirm it’s true – Forest loves startups and still brings the same enthusiasm as he did on day one.

Here are four of his core leadership principles:

1. It’s not you – it’s the data”

I first asked for Forest’s core philosophy as a leader. Coming from an operational background, Forest emphasizes data’s power in guiding decisions. “Data removes personal biases,” he explains. “If you have an idea, I don’t have to say no because I don’t like it. I can say, ‘Prove it. Bring me the data.’ If the data backs you, great—because who am I to disagree with what the market is telling us?”

2. “Captain: Permission to Fail?”

Mistakes are not just tolerated—they’re embraced. Forest believes failure accelerates growth, particularly for high achievers used to constant success. Instead of the pathways being shame or embarrassment, Forest wants to shift the inner dialogue towards: “Cool! Now we know. We’ve learned some new stuff, and we can do it better next time.” 

Innovation is driven by constantly trying out new things. As someone who loves new ideas and loves bringing them to LaunchX (P.S., speaking of, check out our podcast!), this was extremely comforting to hear. When asked about what if things don’t work out the way we want, Forest says: “Great! I’m okay with that. Because we will know that we can do it better. We are just never going to know until we try stuff.”

3. Sugar, Spice, and Constructive Advice

Delivering feedback is one of the most delicate aspects of leadership, and Forest approaches it with empathy and openness. Before any tough conversation, he hopes that the other party can understand that A) it’s not personal, B) he is interested in supporting them and figuring out how it could work, and C) they will not be scolded. “I have no interest in scolding an adult”. (I can also confirm that when we work with teenage interns, he also does not scold them.)

“I’ve learned I really need to ask questions to people when they are not succeeding because my assumptions might be wrong and make the situation worse,” Forest notes. Coming from a perspective of curiosity is always a fool-proof driver towards empathetic leadership.

4. Three Little Words (not ‘I love you’)

Unsurprisingly, there is a hierarchical element towards being a “leader” or CEO of a company, and Forest recognizes that final choices and decisions are often deferred to him. He reflects, “I have learned plenty of times the hard way that I don’t want to be the smartest person in the room anymore.” He also acknowledges this impracticality, noting how he’d rather bring in a smarter person and trust that they know what they’re doing.

Forest acknowledges the leadership hubris he tackled from gaining more confidence and overcoming imposter syndrome – especially when saying the words “I don’t know”. About saying those humbling and vulnerable three little words, Forest says that, “for a while, I didn’t think that was an okay thing to do.” But now, in each meeting, he wants us to hear him defer an answer to another or say that he doesn’t know.

One random November evening, I sent Forest a text saying I was having lots of fun at LaunchX, mainly because I was learning so much about leadership (shoutout to my direct report, Thomas, head of marketing). His response? “Pay close attention to what you like about us as leaders and what you dislike. I am an amalgamation of all the leaders I had before me.”

Indeed, we take a little bit from each of the people and leaders we have the fortune (or misfortune) of working with. Hopefully, a little part of this conversation sticks with you too!

Connect with Forest here on LinkedIn.

Have I convinced you to explore the idea of working or collaborating with LaunchX? Especially if you’re an alumni of the program yourself, please do reach out to me at rachel@launchx.com to chat!