What qualities help founders succeed in tough industries?

Sam Parr

Co-Founder · Hampton

Being opinionated

Sam Parr says being opinionated—knowing what you're doing and what you're saying no to—matters; he says VCs find that more attractive.

Mike Cannon-Brookes

CEO and Co-Founder · Atlassian

Enjoyment

Mike Cannon-Brookes says founders need to enjoy creating products or services, because otherwise they won't be able to do it for very long; money or being in the right circles won't sustain them for 5–10 years.

Hala Taha

Host of Young and Profiting Podcast · Yap Media

Confidence and humility

Hala Taha says the sweet spot for entrepreneurs is confidence and humility coexisting—the confidence to take a risk and the humility to question what they're doing—because having only ego or only paranoia won't work.

Ben Lamm

Founder and CEO · Colossal Biosciences

High conviction

Ben Lamm says founders should trust their gut and have high convictions about what they're doing, because everyone has an opinion and no one can be emulated.

Arjun Mangla

Co-Founder & CEO · Fulcrum

Intellectual honesty

Arjun Mangla says the founders' stories he's heard come down to intellectual honesty and extreme rational thought, since distracting factors can otherwise lead founders to non-optimal paths and common pitfalls.

The answer starts at 22:35.

Mark Pincus

Founder & Chairman · Zynga

Courage

Mark Pincus says courage is what founders need, which he describes as going against everyone, including your board and team, and having faith and conviction in your own instinct.

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 you need something a little irrational driving you.

David Friedberg

Chief Executive Officer · Ohalo Genetics

Drive and execution

David Friedberg says the one thing that cuts through investment biases is understanding how capable and how difficult and driven a founder is, which he calls 'at the core'.

The answer starts at 43:19.

Chase Idleman

Chief Executive Officer · Arlow

Initiative

Chase Idleman says initiative is the one skill set he absolutely needed for his new role, since you have to wake up and figure out which direction to go and know which way to run.

Anshu Sharma

Co-founder & CEO · Skyflow

Belief in importance

Anshu Sharma says founders must truly believe what they are doing is important, since he holds that you can only build a great company by solving an important problem.

Matthew Wilson

Co-founder and CEO · Jack and Jill

Trust yourself

Matthew Wilson's advice to founders is to trust themselves more, rather than take all advice and be talked out of what they deep down feel is right, because they alone have all the context.

The answer starts at 42:00.

Sridhar Ramaswamy

Chief Executive Officer · Snowflake

Strong belief

Sridhar Ramaswamy says founders need a strong belief—that they can do something better—calling every startup an act of believing; that conviction, he says, makes you act with purpose.

Sasha Orloff

Member of Staff · Accrual

Realism

Sasha Orloff says realism—a good relationship with reality—matters because investors like founders who have that and don't expect a perfect business.

Andy Frisella

Chief Executive Officer · 1st Phorm International

Humility

Andy Frisella says humility is the most important thing, because if you're not humble and think you're good, you can't get better or learn.

Aizada Marat

CEO & Founder · Alma

Resilience

Aizada Marat says resilience matters for founders, because the startup journey is difficult and takes a toll, requiring perseverance and not giving up.

Neka Pasquale LAc MS

Founder & Chief Product Officer · Urban Remedy

Holding vision

Neka Pasquale says holding your company's vision is critically important, because business decisions along the investment path might not align with how you see the business and it could go sideways.

Good judgment

Max Hodak says to rely less on startup advice and more on good judgment, refined in your domain, and thinking for yourself, since on the frontier you figure it out as you go.

Gabrielle Marquez

Founder Solutions Lead · Finstrat Management

Stewardship mindset

Gabrielle Marquez says the relevant mindset for founders taking investor capital is stewardship: they are responsible for doing what they said and returning a multiple.

Blake Scholl

Founder/CEO · Boom Supersonic

Caring

Blake Scholl says caring is one of the most important qualities to look for in people, because you can teach skills but cannot teach someone to care.

Charles Payne

Owner · wall street strategies

Visionary

Charles Payne says founders need to be visionaries because having a long-term vision is difficult but essential, especially when short-term pressures can cause constant changes.