• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

3

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 

1

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year

2

Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'

3

Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Commentary

How Ignoring Your Instincts Can Lead to Missed Opportunities

By
Alex Nocifera
Alex Nocifera
and
Bethany Cianciolo
Bethany Cianciolo
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Alex Nocifera
Alex Nocifera
and
Bethany Cianciolo
Bethany Cianciolo
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 3, 2016, 11:00 AM ET
Courtesy of Local ID

The Entrepreneur Insider network is an online community where the most thoughtful and influential people in America’s startup scene contribute answers to timely questions about entrepreneurship and careers. Today’s answer to the question “When making a tough business decision, how do you know when to trust your gut?” is written by Alex Nocifera, founder and CEO of Local ID.

With three startups launched over the last 12-plus years, my gut has become a trusted navigational tool for my business decision-making process—but it’s taken time. In my early years as an entrepreneur, my gut didn’t quite have the grey-haired, seasoned wisdom to confidently live out the decision-making path. But gut intuition is a skill, and as with many skills, it can be trained and fine-tuned over time.

Any founder setting out on the entrepreneurial journey has the responsibility of being the company’s instinctual leader. It’s often in the early stages of entrepreneurship that your gut shines with the soul of the company you founded. But it isn’t until your operations methodically align and your business reaches desired outcomes that you know you’ve nailed the gut decision-making process.

Naturally, when I started out, I often leaned on my trusted circle of advisors, my personal collection of business bibles, and my investors for wisdom and expertise.

See also: What ThinkThin’s Founder Wants You to Know About Tough Decisions

Now, with several years of experience as an entrepreneur, paired with the day-to-day charge of being CEO and founder of my most recent startup, Local ID, I’ve learned how to listen to my gut to drive growth, acquisition, and ultimately, get desired outcomes. Even in an environment that focuses on big data, there’s never going to be enough big data to simulate that stomach-flipping adrenaline rush that drives you to make a strong, thoughtful decision.

Logic alone doesn’t take into account human error. It’s so important for us to lean in to those gut feelings—that’s where we catch great growth opportunities. In situations where we must follow our instincts, that’s when we make unique impacts and uncover out-of-the-box solutions.

Today, the structure of our business requires us to identify three core areas of decision-making: customers, employees, and investors. What’s interesting here is that your gut instinct develops a pretty good sense for how all of these stakeholders will respond. How will whatever decision we’re faced with impact those three key constituents? Additionally, you can factor in the dimensions of time, urgency, cost, and gain to contextualize your scenario and paint a clearer picture.

Ultimately, being confident in the bets you make and the risks you take gives you a gut instinct. But it’s important to keep in mind that you’re running a startup—you’re officially in the business of disrupting and changing behavior, meaning you’re very much at the epicenter of mistakes. If you’re waiting for the perfect, no-risk answer, there’s a good chance that the opportunity will fly by—sometimes right into your competitors’ hands. Embrace the potential of being wrong, but don’t be afraid to go with that priceless human instinct: As long as your gut’s win-loss column nets positive, you should come out victorious.

 

Read all responses to the Entrepreneur Insider question: When making a tough business decision, how do you know when to trust your gut?

Proof You Can Always Turn Failure into Success by Tricia Clarke-Stone, cofounder and CEO of Narrative.

The First Thing You Should Do Before Making a Tough Decision by Denise Terry, CEO of EmbraceFamily Health.

The Hardest Part of Being an Entrepreneur by Francesca Federico, cofounder and principal of Twelve Points.

Here’s Why Good Resumes Won’t Signal Promising Team Members by Randy Rayess, cofounder of VenturePact.

This is How Long it Should Take to Make a Decision by Tim Flannery, a venture partner at Pilot Mountain Ventures.

Why You Shouldn’t Think Twice About Firing an Employee by William Vanderbloemen, founder and CEO of Vanderbloemen Search Group.

This is How the Most Successful Leaders Make Tough Decisions by Simon Berg, CEO of Ceros.

The Best Way to Make Fast Decisions by Vijay Ramani, cofounder and CEO of Totspot.

What Every Leader Can Learn From Alfred P. Sloan About Tough Decisions by Frank Fabela, Vistage CEO peer advisory board chair.

Proof Data Can’t Always Help You Make Decisions by Morgan Hermand-Waiche, founder and CEO of Adore Me.

Doing This Will Help You Make Tough Decisions by Suneera Madhani, founder and CEO of Fattmerchant.

Here’s What Happens When You Don’t Trust Your Gut by Gesche Haas, founder of Dreamers//Doers.

Here’s What You Should Do When You Have to Make a Tough Decision by Alexander Goldstein, founder and CEO of Eligo Energy.

Never Make a Big Decision Without Doing This First by Feris Rifai, cofounder and CEO of Bay Dynamics.

Here’s How Questioning Decisions Can Ruin a Business by Pat Peterson, founder and CEO of Agari.

About the Authors
By Alex Nocifera
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
By Bethany Cianciolo
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Commentary

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Commentary

brotman
CommentaryVenture Capital
I’ve spent 25 years in venture capital. Here’s how it quietly shut ordinary Americans out of the AI wealth boom—and what could fix it
By Steve BrotmanMay 22, 2026
9 hours ago
cox
CommentarySuccession
McKinsey studied 200 family business successions. The biggest problem wasn’t the heir — it was the outgoing CEO
By Acha Leke and Chaitali MukherjeeMay 22, 2026
10 hours ago
himanshu
CommentaryLayoffs
I’ve led companies through every major tech disruption. AI washing is the same mistake, every time
By Himanshu PalsuleMay 22, 2026
12 hours ago
trump
CommentaryWhite House
Trump Accounts have a bigger problem than billionaire stock donations
By Jin Huang and Stephen RollMay 21, 2026
1 day ago
brigham
CommentaryRailroads
The U.S. freight network is broken by design. One merger could start fixing it
By Brigham A. McCownMay 21, 2026
1 day ago
Elon Musk sits with his fists together, looking up.
Commentaryspace
SpaceX will be worth trillions, but the space station that made it possible is worth even more — if we don’t squander it
By Tejpaul BhatiaMay 20, 2026
2 days ago

Most Popular

Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
Success
Jeff Bezos wants the bottom half of earners to pay zero income tax—he says nurses making just $75K should save $12K a year
By Preston ForeMay 21, 2026
1 day ago
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
Success
Despite a $500 million net worth, Shaq just finished his fourth degree. He warns graduates: 'Your character will take you further than your resume'
By Preston ForeMay 20, 2026
2 days ago
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
Workplace Culture
Bolt CEO says he let go of his entire HR team for creating problems that didn’t exist: ‘Those problems disappeared when I let them go’ 
By Preston ForeMay 19, 2026
3 days ago
Pay transparency is exposing a bigger problem: Most companies can't explain why they pay what they pay
Workplace Culture
Pay transparency is exposing a bigger problem: Most companies can't explain why they pay what they pay
By Sydney LakeMay 20, 2026
2 days ago
McKinsey partner says up to 50% of work hours could be transformed within the next 5 years
AI
McKinsey partner says up to 50% of work hours could be transformed within the next 5 years
By Emma BurleighMay 21, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of May 21, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of May 21, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerMay 21, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.