Which founder traits matter most for early investment?

🚀Michal Rokosz

Partner

Agency

Michal Rokosz prioritizes agency in early-stage founders, saying it's the attitude that when something needs to be done, you just get it done; it's a pattern at his fund to back founders with early entrepreneurial achievements.

Kenan Saleh

Investment Partner · Andreessen Horowitz

Full Commitment

Kenan Saleh says the most important thing is that founders are fully bought in on starting a company and willing to leave their jobs to build full time, while he is flexible on other factors.

David Haber

General Partner · Andreessen Horowitz

The Fire

David Haber says he looks for “the fire”—irrational self-confidence and deep passion—because building a company is so challenging and it’s too easy to give up.

The answer starts at 46:03.

Ross Fubini

Managing Partner · Xyz Venture Capital

Grit

Ross Fubini says grit is the big attribute, because starting and running these companies takes 10 years and gets really hard, so founders must be resilient and driven.

The answer starts at 49:17.

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Gili Raanan

Cyberstarter · Cyberstarts

Ability to Deal with Challenges

Gili Raanan says the quality he prioritizes is the ability to deal with challenges, since founders will face challenges and he wants to de-risk whether they can handle them rather than collapse or give up.

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Rohini Chakravarthy

Managing Partner · Newbuild Venture Capital

Founder-Market Fit

Rohini Chakravarthy says she looks for founder-market fit—whether the founder is the right person to solve the burning problem, or needs to expand the team with needed expertise.

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Keith Rabois

Managing Director · Khosla Ventures

Top-Tier Technologist + Business Acumen

Keith Rabois says he looks for founders who are top-tier in a trait or a rare combination of two, citing Max Levchin's first-rate technology skill plus top-tier business acumen, which rarely overlap.

The answer starts at 21:45.

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Morgan Flager

Managing Partner · Silverton Partners

Grit and Resolve

Morgan Flager says he looks for grit and resolve, because he needs to be convinced the founder is in it for the long haul, wants to win, and won't walk away.

Subrata Mitra

Partner · Accel

Vision and Team-Building

Subrata Mitra says he looks for founders who truly believe in the idea and can attract great teams, ranking belief/vision first and team-building second, because the company takes 10–15 years and needs talent better than the founder.

The answer starts at 26:26.

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Steve Kupfer

Partner · Reach Capital

Team Quality

Steve Kupfer says he prioritizes team quality, noting his investing committee spends a lion's share on it because even the best idea in a fast-growing market needs the right team to manage uncertainty and succeed.

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Jade Wang

Venture Partner · Antler

Intrinsic Intellectual Curiosity

Jade Wang says intrinsic intellectual curiosity is definitely a large component of what she looks for in founders, though she does not rank it as the most important.

Justin Smith-Lorenzetti

Founder & Managing Director · Intact Private Capital

Unwavering Desire to Build

Justin Smith-Lorenzetti says he looks for founders with an unwavering, undying desire to build something different, saying that's what they gravitate toward and the best way to describe what he seeks.

Christina Quinn

General Partner · Ssc Venture Partners

Adaptability, Resilience, Initiative, Self-Awareness

Christina Quinn says her firm looks for adaptability, resilience, initiative and self-awareness, because founders need initiative to execute, adaptability to pivot, resilience to keep going, and self-awareness to inspire others.

David Frankel

Managing Partner · Founder Collective

Youth, Energy, Focus, Smarts

David Frankel says he would prioritize youth, energy, focus, and smarts in founders, calling that combination an intoxicating package.

Jason Gray

Founder & Managing Partner · Pioneer Fund

Unique Insight

Jason Gray says he prioritizes unique insight—what founders see that the rest of the market doesn't—and also rate of progress, how fast they move and crush problems.