Over the course of our careers, we’ve worked with and screened numerous founders. As a result of these experiences, we’ve identified 14 common behavioral traits of top-tier, early-stage founders (and founding teams) in the U.S. Our observations have their implicit biases, but nonetheless, we thought you might find them insightful.
Love winning. Period. For these founders, company performance is deeply associated with who they are. They hold themselves to the highest standards because lackluster performance feels terrible to them.
Grew up in a limited socioeconomic structure. These limitations could include a lack of monetary resources, invisible barriers of class/religion/culture, or simply a smaller economy. Rather than accept their “place in life,” these founders use their creativity to make the most out of whatever situation. This resourcefulness is often described as a “scrappy” founder mentality; we prefer to call it a treasure of applied creativity :)
Lived in an environment where things weren’t taken for granted. When they were growing up, their families didn’t buy them everything they wanted—quite the contrary. When they were given new things or gifts, they knew those items weren’t easy to come by but could be attained by some form of intentional effort.
Emotionally enriched by an adult figure. Though they might not have grown up with a lot of money, these founders had parents, guardians, or other mentors who were committed to their emotional well-being. They were encouraged to freely experiment and were taught that being different might actually be okay!
Didn’t fit in with their peers.From an early age, these founders realized that their interests (e.g., technology and knowledge) didn’t align with the interests of their peers (e.g., sports and music). This, in turn, encourages them to search for a new place where they can realize their dreams and desires (e.g., Silicon Valley).
Annoyed by things that don’t make sense—and inspired to do something about them. When something doesn’t make sense logically, founders get irritated and know there must be a better, more efficient way forward. They continue to ask questions until they get to the bottom of it.
Don’t desire to be in the limelight. These founders usually aren’t thought of as “the life of the party.” That doesn’t mean they can’t engage or present well. Instead, their energies are directed toward enhancing other abilities, such as processing large volumes of data and identifying relationships between them.
Are honest about themselves and about what is. They understand their strengths and weaknesses more so than most and are keenly aware of what they need help with. No matter the situation they find themselves in, they accept reality as it exists and work with it to create a desired outcome.
Default to ‘fight mode’ when under stress. Many people default to “flight” or “freeze” when the going gets tough. However, when these founders face immense uncertainty, they roll their sleeves up and are ready to run through walls to regain control of the situation.
Have a bias for action. These early-stage founders learn by doing and iterating. While they are definitely thoughtful people, they’re hardwired to act.
Can see the forest and the trees. While these founders can see the big picture, they can also zoom in on the granular details when the situation warrants it. They’re able to distinguish between goals and the processes needed to achieve them.
Optimistic about what’s possible, pessimistic about how long good results last. They are driven by a mindset of what can be and are optimistic about what’s possible. However, this optimism is balanced by their pessimism about how enduring positive results are.
Create processes for others but don’t stick to one themselves. While they rarely follow processes themselves because they’re constantly iterating, these founders are keen on documenting processes members of the team should follow to get desired results.
Thrive in collaborative environments. On one hand, founders are talented workers who can get a lot done independently. But they tend to reach their full potential in collaborative settings where their efforts can be augmented by the wisdom and diversity of a team.