"I'd rather lose my own money than someone else's"

A pledge to risk personal capital before risking others’ underscores a philosophy of accountability, autonomy, and ethical leadership. It elevates “skin in the game” from a financial tactic to a moral stance: take the downside yourself before inviting others to share it. For an inventor and entrepreneur like Dean Kamen, whose work often pushes the boundaries of feasibility, the stance recognizes that innovation lives in uncertainty and that uncertainty should be borne first by the originator.

There’s a psychological honesty here. Losing money is painful; losing someone else’s money adds guilt, reputational damage, and a lingering erosion of trust. Choosing to carry the initial burden tempers overconfidence and curbs moral hazard. It forces a sharper calculus: hypotheses must be tested leanly, assumptions interrogated brutally, and milestones earned rather than assumed. When the losses are personal, discipline becomes nonnegotiable.

The principle also signals confidence and alignment. Stakeholders, investors, partners, employees, read personal exposure as proof that incentives are properly matched. A leader who stands to lose materially with everyone else’s downside earns the right to ask for commitment. That credibility fosters a culture where accountability cascades: teams treat budgets as if they were their own, and decisions reflect stewardship rather than entitlement.

There is nuance. Building consequential technologies often requires capital beyond one person’s means. The point isn’t to shun outside funding but to approach it with responsibility: de-risk with personal effort and resources first, then accept other people’s money only with safeguards, transparency, and a meaningful personal stake maintained. The ethic scales: share upside, bear downside.

Beyond startups, the sentiment offers guidance for public leadership and everyday life. Make choices that concentrate harm on the decision-maker rather than on bystanders. Protect trust as a scarce asset. When risk is unavoidable, carry as much of it as possible on your own back, and invite others aboard only when you’ve proven both the pathway and your willingness to pay the cost of being wrong.