Short read: What makes a great founder?

I spend a lot of time talking to founders and potential founders that might join us in our studio and to lead our ventures.

I love doing it - love the insight they give me, love the way they challenge me own beliefs, love the opportunity to explore business models with super smart people.

💫 When I'm thinking about whether someone is a good fit for our portfolio ventures, I think there are 5 founder traits ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ that I'm most looking out for:

😍 I love working with founders that are ⭐ excited, ⭐ committed, ⭐ intellectually imaginative, ⭐ capable of selling & inspiring, and also... ⭐ who can act like Meerkats. Huh, what...?

Well read on...

⭐ 1️⃣ Are they instinctively EXCITED about the space in which they are building, or will be building?

⭐ 2️⃣ Are they COMMITTED to solving a challenge (rather than committed purely to building the thing they believe they are building today)?

⭐ 3️⃣ Are they INTELLECTUALLY IMAGINATIVE? Can they see past the status quo today to imagine multiple variations of the world as it might be? Can they simultaneously live in today's paradigm and see the evolved paradigm of tomorrow?

⭐ 4️⃣ Can they SELL & INSPIRE, prolifically and exceptionally?

⭐ 5️⃣ Do they have the ability to at once switch their head between the strategic vision and aspirational horizon of the boardroom, and the operational and tactical reality of the proposition, product and operations of today. These things are always different in the early and scale-stages, so can they be both the sentry with eyes on the horizon, whilst also keeping house on-the-ground. In that respect, can they act like a family of MEERKATS? 😉

A founder with these characteristics is in my mind a formidable force.