Paige Finn DohertyFounding Partner, Behind Genius · Founding Partner at Behind Genius Ventures

How did Moth Fund Founding Partner Molly Mielke overcome imposter syndrome?

22 Jun 2023 · 1 min

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In this interview excerpt, Molly Mielke, founding partner of Moth Fund, discusses her long‑standing struggle with imposter syndrome. She describes feeling out of place in environments where she thought she didn’t belong, especially transitioning from a highly hierarchical entertainment industry—where entry‑level roles involve years of menial tasks—to the tech sector, where she could lead projects as an intern and have her opinions taken seriously. The rapid responsibility shift initially intensified her self‑doubt, leading to moments of crying and questioning her fit. Over time, as she accumulated a portfolio of completed projects, she gained concrete evidence of her capabilities, which helped diminish the imposter feeling and allowed her to recognize her own competence.

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Can you explore how imposter syndrome or that paranoia of wanting to be better or the best has shown up in your work and maybe your relationship with that? Yeah.
I think I struggled for a really long time with just feeling like I was in environments that I had no business being in and people were taking me seriously when they shouldn't be. And I think that it's been magical for me coming from a background in entertainment where The culture is extremely hierarchical and you are expected to spend at least 5 years being a PA, like running coffees, and then coming to tech where it's like, as an intern, I could be leading a project and that's crazy. And they actually listen to me and like my opinion and intuition for better or worse. But I think that it definitely, for a while, until I had more like reps under my belt of projects I could point at and be like, hey, I did that actually. Yeah. I'm not an imposter. I really, you know, I would cry sometimes. I'd just be like, I'm not up for this.