What non-technical skill matters most for founders’ success?

Erin Kelly

Co-Founder and CEO · Askpolly

Perseverance

Erin Kelly says perseverance—sticking it out through troughs—was key, because many founders give up too early and it got her through hard times.

Arjun Mangla

Co-Founder & CEO · Fulcrum

Intellectual honesty

Arjun Mangla says the founder stories he's heard and respects come down to intellectual honesty and extreme rational thought, because being intellectually honest lets you avoid common pitfalls that distract you down suboptimal paths.

The answer starts at 23:04.

Steven Bartlett

Founder & CEO · Steven.Com

Hiring

Steven Bartlett says hiring is the biggest lever for a founder, because everything in the business comes out of someone's head and assembling the right people is the first domino.

Gary Vaynerchuk

Chairman of VaynerX, CEO of VaynerMedia · Vaynerx

Emotional intelligence

Gary Vaynerchuk says real deep emotional intelligence—empathy, kindness and compassion—is one of the two things that can create growth for a human and family and combat what technology brings.

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Andrew Feldman

Founder and CEO · Cerebras

Naïve can‑do attitude

Andrew Feldman says a naive can-do attitude matters: after you build up scar tissue from seeing how hard companies are, that naivety is what lets you attempt it again rather than not doing it.

Stan Suchkov

CEO · Evolve

Courage

Stan Suchkov says courage is needed to recognize when something isn't working and pivot, because many aren't brave enough to abandon something they've invested time and money in.

Mike Kim

Co-Founder & CEO · Mycroft

Charm

Mike Kim says the greatest founders are incredibly arrogant but also incredibly charming, and that balancing charm and likability with a firm sense of how the world should be lets them convince investors or employees to join them.

Sasha Orloff

Member of Staff · Accrual

Showing up for your team

Sasha Orloff says how you show up for your team is really important, listing it as one of two lessons she has taken from her experience.

Aizada Marat

CEO & Founder · Alma

Resilience

Aizada Marat names resilience, saying it requires a new level because founders need to solve difficult problems and survive when others can replicate what they do.

Alex Konrad

Founder and Editor · Upstarts Media

Decisiveness

Alex Konrad says the number one thing that makes a successful founder is decisiveness, since you always have imperfect information and cannot agonize over it but must own the decision.