What mindset helps founders build enduring companies?

Erin Kelly

Co-Founder and CEO · Askpolly

Stick it out

Erin Kelly advises founders to stick it out, saying many give up too early and that sticking through troughs got her through hard times and worked out.

Eric Ries

Chair, LTSE Services · Long-Term Stock Exchange

A governance fortress

Eric Ries says a "governance fortress" is what protects enduring companies: interlocking protections that let management and directors see themselves as a bulwark against Wall Street pressure rather than its agents.

Mike Cannon-Brookes

CEO and Co-Founder · Atlassian

Enjoy what you do

Mike Cannon-Brookes says you have to enjoy what you do, adding that it's uncommon for everyone to manage their own energy supply.

Andy Frisella

Chief Executive Officer · 1st Phorm International

Tolerance for mistakes

Andy Frisella says the important thing is tolerance for mistakes: you can't scale without giving others responsibility, and good-faith mistakes are an investment in their skill set.

Arjun Mangla

Co-Founder & CEO · Fulcrum

Intellectual honesty

Arjun Mangla says the founder stories he respects come down to intellectual honesty and extreme rational thought, because it lets you avoid common pitfalls by making long-term decisions instead of solving for short-term local maxima.

The answer starts at 22:26.

Alex Konrad

Founder and Editor · Upstarts Media

Obsessive passion

Alex Konrad points to obsessive, almost irrational passion for the work, saying the journey is brutal enough that founders need something a little irrational driving them.

Jon Lensing MD

Co-Founder and CEO · OpenLoop

Always be experimenting

Jon Lensing MD says the practice is to always be experimenting and trying things, because most of them might not work, but the ones that do get you to another level.

Reid Hoffman

Co-Founder, Executive Board Chair · Manas Ai

Maintain a beginner's mind

Reid Hoffman says founders should continue with a beginner's mind, not just begin with one, because the possibility landscape keeps shifting and you have to keep learning and adjusting.

AF

Andrew Feldman

Founder and CEO · Cerebras

Naive can‑do attitude

Andrew Feldman says you need a naive can-do attitude, because otherwise the scar tissue from seeing how hard it is would stop you from trying again.

Scarlett Stanhope

Founder & Financial Empowerment Coach · The Biz Hippie | Empowered Abundance

Loving the whole ride

Scarlett Stanhope says loving the whole ride, treating business like a roller coaster, is a deeper layer of gratitude that helps you enjoy all aspects of your business and keep going through the highs and lows.

Ryan Shearman

CEO & Co-founder · Loa Carbon

Fail fast

Ryan Shearman says to fail fast, learn the thing and move, because if you're not failing you're not pushing hard enough and fear of failure is the real failure.

The answer starts at 30:45.

Saahil Goel

MD & CEO · Shiprocket

Hire the right people

Saahil Goel says the more important thing is having the right people, which he calls an under-indexed topic, and that purpose-driven people are needed when building a company or startup.

The answer starts at 49:06.

Eric Siu ✓

CEO · Single Grain | Start Growing

Keep going

Eric Siu says to keep going—one step forward each day—because people succeed by continuing and you don't have to be that smart.

The answer starts at 2:08.

Sridhar Ramaswamy

Chief Executive Officer · Snowflake

Strong conviction

Sridhar Ramaswamy says his biggest message to founders is that they need strong conviction—belief they can do something better—and conviction in who you are makes you act with purpose.

Jesse Stein

Founder & CEO · Hermetic Ai

Persistence

Jesse Stein says persistence is one of the key ingredients to being a successful entrepreneur, because as long as a failure isn't catastrophic or bankrupting the business, you learn and adjust course.

Ben Erez

Co-Founder · Insider Loops

Balance and mindfulness

Ben Erez points to balance and mindfulness, describing balance and consistency in everything you do and mindfulness as working hard while treating it as a marathon to avoid burnout and keep consistent velocity.

Sasha Orloff

Member of Staff · Accrual

Show up for your team

Sasha Orloff says how you show up for your team is really important—one of two things he’s taken from experience—and adds that founders can have their best and worst day in the same day and should stay optimistic.

Capacity to take pain

Travis Kalanick says the capacity to take pain is one pillar of entrepreneurship, because the lifestyle means constant adversity and overcoming it.

Aizada Marat

CEO & Founder · Alma

Focus on real problem

Aizada Marat says the most important thing is to really think about the problem they want to solve—whether it's a real problem, nice-to-have or must-have—because founders sometimes fall in love with the idea too early.

Colin Zima

Co-Founder, CEO · Omni

Focus on daily value creation

Colin Zima says the practice is focusing on daily value creation: be thoughtful about where you spend time, since the company only gets more valuable each day based on what you do.

Shaju Puthussery

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer · LightSpun

Humility

Shaju Puthussery says founders should set egos aside and be humble, because money will come if they focus on the right product, customer, employee and culture.

CAMERON HEROLD

Founder · COO Alliance

Ruthlessly consider if it ends tomorrow

Cameron Herold says the first thing he'd share is to ask "what if it ends tomorrow?" and be ruthless about it, citing his healthy father's and a healthy friend's sudden deaths as why you shouldn't postpone balance.

Mike Grossman

Board Member · Filmhub

Actively managing culture

Mike Grossman says he strongly believes in actively managing culture, because while every company has a culture, founders should be intentional about articulating values and embedding them in hiring and performance reviews.

Kabir Siddiq

Founder & CEO · Sleepycat

Persistence

Kabir Siddiq says persistence—showing up every day through bad moods and storms—is what gets founders there, and he calls it the longevity aspect of building.

Gabrielle Marquez

Founder Solutions Lead · Finstrat Management

Respect capital

Gabrielle Marquez says founders should respect capital, because capital is limited and accepting it is a big responsibility, and investors give it to be multiplied.

Blake Scholl

Founder/CEO · Boom Supersonic

Work on what you love

Blake Scholl says founders should work on something they love, holding out for it without compromising, because he says that is the only way to build something great.

Gary Vaynerchuk

Chairman of VaynerX, CEO of VaynerMedia · Vaynerx

Resilience

Gary Vaynerchuk says resilience, arguing that nobody—not Facebook, Amazon or Oprah—made it without it.

Charles Payne

Owner · wall street strategies

No limits mindset

Charles Payne says the most important mindset is having no limits, and he says these people believe they are doing something great for humanity, driven by legacy rather than money.