ASSESSMENT COMPARISON
RECKON VS MBTI
A founder-specific alternative to the 16-type framework
MBTI is the most recognized personality framework in the world. Reckon is built for a narrower audience: people who are starting, running, or considering running a company, and who need output they can act on.
01 · WHAT MBTI IS
MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE INDICATOR
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator was developed in the 1940s by Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother, Katharine Cook Briggs, drawing on Carl Jung's theory of psychological types. It assigns test-takers one of 16 four-letter types based on four binary dichotomies: Extraversion vs. Introversion, Sensing vs. Intuition, Thinking vs. Feeling, and Judging vs. Perceiving. The publisher, The Myers-Briggs Company, charges $59.95 and the assessment takes roughly 45 minutes.
02 · WHERE MBTI FALLS SHORT FOR FOUNDERS
THE GAP
Peer-reviewed research has found that roughly two in five test-takers get a different type within five weeks of retesting. The publisher's own manual discourages using MBTI to predict job performance. The framework measures none of risk tolerance, locus of control, or need for achievement, which are the three constructs entrepreneurship researchers most consistently tie to founder outcomes.
03 · HEAD-TO-HEAD
MBTI VS RECKON
MBTI
Reckon
$59.95
$20
~45 min
about 30 min
16 types across 4 Jungian dichotomies (E/I, S/N, T/F, J/P)
8 dimensions: Big Five, Risk Tolerance, Locus of Control, Need for Achievement
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
04 · WHY FOUNDERS PICK RECKON
THE FOUNDATION. THE GAP MECHANIC. THE OUTPUT.
The Foundation
Reckon is built on validated instruments: Big Five via NEO-PI-R and BFI-2, risk tolerance via DOSPERT, locus of control via the Rotter I-E Scale, and need for achievement via McClelland-rooted scales. The questions are original, anchored on those scales.
The Gap Mechanic
The first question asks what pulls you toward starting a company. After 70 forced-choice questions, the report compares your stated motivation against the archetype your answers actually point to. If there is a gap, the report names it directly.
Decision-Useful Output
The report tells you which businesses to refuse, which cofounder you need, and what your blind spots are. 70 forced-choice questions. About 30 minutes. $20, self-serve, no consultant.
05 · HONESTY
A STRAIGHT ANSWER ON VALIDATION
Reckon is built on validated instruments. It has not itself been independently validated. The FAQ explains the difference.
No independent lab has run a test-retest or criterion-validity study on Reckon. The report describes patterns, not predictions. Anyone who tells you their assessment is scientifically validated without citing specific published research is selling you something. See the methodology page for what the eight dimensions are anchored on and why the forced-choice format matters.