What traits show a founder is truly mission-driven?

🚀Michal Rokosz

Partner

Early entrepreneurial drive

Michal Rokosz says he looks for early entrepreneurial achievements, citing founders at his fund who sold Lego figures they painted in primary school or built communities and games in their early teens, long before their first company.

David Weisburd

Founder · Weisburd Capital

Emotional attachment

David Weisburd says he looks for an emotional attachment, often by asking founders why they named their company, because he wants to see an emotional connection to the problem and brand.

The answer starts at 2:41.

Kenan Saleh

Investment Partner · Andreessen Horowitz

Fully bought-in

Kenan Saleh says the most important thing is being fully bought in on wanting to start a company and willing to leave your job to do it full time.

Morgan Hitzig

General Partner · Overmatch Ventures

Decade-long commitment

Founders should weigh whether to spend a decade on the venture before fundraising.

The answer starts at 10:54.

David Haber

General Partner · Andreessen Horowitz

The fire

David Haber says he looks for what he calls “the fire” in founders, a quality he finds hard to articulate; building a company is so challenging and too easy to give up, so you need passion or self-confidence.

The answer starts at 46:19.

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Gili Raanan

Cyberstarter · Cyberstarts

Emotional depth

Gili Raanan says he looks for people with significant emotional depth, who he says would evolve and grow through the journey.

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Morgan Flager

Managing Partner · Silverton Partners

Personal experience

Morgan Flager says he looks at founders’ personal experiences and background, like years as an expert in the space or a real personal experience that led them to solve the problem, to tell they aren’t just chasing trends.

Subrata Mitra

Partner · Accel

Belief and team-building

Subrata Mitra says he looks for founders who truly believe in the idea they're pitching and have the ability to form great teams, attracting talent that is in many ways better than the founder.

The answer starts at 26:26.

Guy Katsovich

Co-Founder & Partner · Fusion Vc

Resilience

Guy Katsovich says the quality is resilience, saying the founders he sees are very resilient and show much more results with much less resources than counterparts who raised millions.

Eric Vishria

General Partner · Benchmark

Life's work mindset

Eric Vishria says that before investing he asks whether he could honestly explain to someone he cares about why the company could be their life's work, and if he cannot, he should not invest.

Christina Quinn

General Partner · Ssc Venture Partners

Authenticity

Christina Quinn says authenticity matters, urging founders to tell the real story of who they are and why they're building, with a reason deeply connected to their mission rather than short-term incentives like making money.