Common Characteristics of Successful Founders
#中文在下
VCs always try to identify common traits in successful entrepreneurs. David Senra, host of the Founder Podcast, reads a founder's autobiography weekly and shares highlights with his audience. With 335 episodes, he's read hundreds of founder stories. In an extensive two-and-a-half-hour discussion with Patrick, host of "Invest Like the Best," they explored traits shared by these successful founders.
They've identified that successful founders usually have one big thing in common: intense obsession with their objectives. Though it might seem like a cliché, the real insight lies in uncovering the layers of a founder's obsession, understanding its depth. This concept aligns with Paul Graham's insights in his acclaimed article "How to do great work." Graham points out that the path to significant achievements is often paved with curiosity, joy, and the aspiration to make an impression on others. Through their deep dives into the biographies of various founders, David and Patrick have further explored and clarified the underpinnings of what truly drives a founder.
Formative Growth Journeys
The driving forces behind successful founders frequently originate from profound psychological needs, such as the desire to prove oneself or conquer feelings of inferiority, which are often anchored in their early life experiences. There's a saying that suggests understanding a son's journey can be achieved by examining the story of his father.
For instance, Churchill's relationship with his father may have been his greatest motivator. Churchill admired his father, a distinguished politician, and sought his approval, but his father was often absent and spent little time with him. Churchill's determination to succeed in politics and impact the world was partly due to his desire to prove himself worthy of his father's acknowledgment.
Michael Jordan's competitive nature and drive for success were greatly influenced by his upbringing and relationship with his father, James Jordan. James not only introduced basketball and baseball to Michael's life but taught him the value of hard work and perseverance through his example. After James's murder in 1993, Michael suffered a profound loss and grief. He briefly retired but eventually returned to basketball, using memories of his father as a motivator. Towards the end of his biography, Michael Jordan asks, "Am I good enough, Dad?"
Tiger Woods has a similar story. Seeing his parents' sacrifices for his interest in golf spurred a strong determination not to disappoint them. His father's words, "You don't deserve it, you earn it," ignited his competitive spirit. Tiger also said, "The best thing about those practices was that my father always kept it fun, and you will be surprised how much you can learn when you truly enjoy doing something." The joyous practice sessions with his father were one of the main reasons for his golfing dedication.
Leaving a Lasting Legacy
Napoleon once said, "If you die and your name isn't known, then your life was useless." This seems to have greatly influenced Sam Altman. After starting OpenAI in 2018, he stated that "The Mind of Napoleon" was the most important book to him. He wasn't focused on any new companies but found the book fascinating. Perhaps Sam's ultimate driving force comes from wanting to leave a lasting legacy, even if it means making significant sacrifices.
A lot of the time, successful business people decide to share everything they've learned either when they're about to retire or when they feel their time is almost up, hoping to help the next wave of entrepreneurs. This desire to give back and leave something behind is something you see in big names like Sam Walton from Walmart, Steve Jobs from Apple, and Ingvar Kamprad from IKEA.
Money, Fame, Power
An interesting way to understand people's values and priorities is to ask them to rank money, power, and fame. It's noticed that most people's initial answers aren't accurate, but after a few follow-up questions, their rankings might change.
Typically, people might rank money, fame, and power in that order, but power might be better interpreted as the ability to change the world. After asking people to rank these, you can ask, "Once you get what you want, what will you do?" Sometimes, this question reveals if a person's public preferences align with their actual behavior and actions.
Fighting for Others?
After money, fame, and power, what's the next iteration of an entrepreneur's motivation? Patrick discovered that doing things for others might be an option. Aravind Eye Hospitals, founded by Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy, is one of the world's most revolutionary organizations, aiming to "Eliminate Needless Blindness." Aravind's simple but powerful mission has attracted countless talents to work towards this goal, providing surgery results equal to or surpassing those of the developed world at less than 1% of the cost, with over half of the patients treated for free, without accepting any funding or donations, becoming one of the world's largest ophthalmic systems. When Dr. Venkataswamy aimed to achieve his goal, he continuously thought about how to make Aravind the McDonald's of cataract surgery, standardizing the process and reducing costs to a minimum. In his notes, he wrote, "How do I become a more perfect instrument?" He saw himself as a instrument, nothing more. Such thinking truly made him an "entrepreneur for others."
Other common traits include:
Is Ego a Good Thing?
David pointed out that a lot of entrepreneurs are driven by the need to prove themselves to their parents, friends, or the broader society. It's a mindset that says, "I'm capable, and maybe I can make this big, crazy idea into reality." It seems like having a bit of an ego is pretty common for successful entrepreneurs. Nonetheless, it's crucial for this self-assurance not to evolve into arrogance. If entrepreneurs start to confuse people “cheering for their wins” with “cheering for them as a person”, it might result in them becoming self-satisfied. And that could kill the passion and hard work that got them to where they are in the first place.
All Good Founders are Marketing Geniuses
Enzo Ferrari used his wins at Le Mans to really boost the Ferrari name, effectively linking it with notions of victory and prestige. His unique approach to personal branding included always wearing sunglasses during client meetings and carefully choosing who was privileged enough to purchase his cars. This selective strategy reinforced the brand's exclusivity, epitomized by his philosophy: "A Ferrari must be more than just owned; it must be desired."
Edwin Land, like Steve Jobs, would carefully plan presentation details to completely convey why people needed his product. He invented the polarizing film that reduced glare from oncoming car headlights at night. To demonstrate this innovation, he figured out where the sun would be, snagged a hotel room with just the right view, set up a fish tank, and then called over the folks he wanted to impress. He got the timing just right, so they could see the sunlight streaming into the tank. Then he popped on his polarizing film to showcase the change. That's how he persuaded them to buy.
When Walt Disney had the idea for a theme park and needed money to build it, he made a deal with ABC. In exchange for their investment, he promised to make a weekly TV show. This wasn't just any show – it featured Disney cartoons and sneak peeks of the park being built, like an ongoing ad that people actually enjoyed watching. It worked like a charm; the show got super popular, and on opening day, the park drew such a huge crowd it caused the biggest traffic jam Orange County had ever seen. Walt Disney didn't just create an amazing park; he nailed the marketing for it too.
High-agency
Every entrepreneur is undoubtedly proactive, but for David, a high-agency founder is defined as "having the next step ready when faced with rejection." This could involve navigating product missteps, investor rejections, or staff departures – all typical in the entrepreneurial journey.
He considers Sam Zemurray one of the most high-agency founders he's seen. Zemurray amassed a fortune in the banana trade in Central American countries like Guatemala and Honduras. He wasn't afraid to play hardball, using stuff like bribes to deal with local governments, influencing local political situations, even getting the U.S. government to tell him to back off. But Zemurray didn't back down – he even put money into rebel groups to protect his business. Sure, funding rebellions and toppling governments is pretty out there, but it just goes to show that a founder who's really into taking action will go to great lengths to hit their targets.
Over the past six months or so of interacting with founders, most of them want to have an impact, with many people using their products and so on. But what I'm still learning is how to truly feel the depth of their determination. It's not necessarily about harrowing experiences; it could just be an endless curiosity about certain things. The most important take after listening to the discussion between Patrick and David is this: from the case of Aravind Eye Hospitals, we can see that founders' seemingly odd ways of thinking—like seeing themselves as tools for a greater mission—actually reveal the strength of their motivation. These subtle thought patterns usually reflect a deep and indescribable commitment, which is also the most important driving force for founders to persist through difficulties and grow in adversity.
I'm also still learning how to explore the motivations and their intensity of entrepreneurs from more diverse and detailed perspectives. To understand a founder, the Who, What, and When are also key sources of information, and we shouldn't just focus on the Why—like asking why they started a business or why they chose a particular idea.
Who: Who influenced you? It could be an entrepreneurial idol, a family member, or a sibling.
What: What event made you determined to solve this problem?
When: People or events at different times can further deepen or validate whether a person's motivation is consistently strong.
The next level is How, whether your thought process has changed because of this motivation, and this is what Govindappa Venkataswamy demonstrated in terms of the strength and intensity of his motivation.
Finally, I'll conclude with this one-minute speech by Sam:
“The most underrated quality of all is being determined, more important than being smart, having a network, or having a great idea.”
尋找成功創業家的共同特質，一直是 VC 所追求的 。David Senra 是 Founder Podcast 的主持人，每週會閱讀一本創業家自傳並摘錄精華分享給聽眾。這個 Podcast 已經有335集，意味著他至少閱讀過數百本以上的創業家自傳。在與《Invest Like the Best》節目主持人 Patrick 的深入對話中，他們一同探討了這些成功創業家的共同特點。
他們認為，一個普遍存在於所有成功創始人身上的特質是對追求目標的極度執著 (Obseesion)，聽起來很像廢話，但重點是如何像撥洋蔥一樣一層一層挖到最深的核心，知道這個 Founder 的執著到底有多強，這份執著可以帶他到哪裡，也是 Paul Graham 在《How to do great work》中強調的，做出偉大成就的人，動機常源於好奇、喜悅和給人留下深刻印象。通過閱讀這些創業家的故事，David 和 Patrick 對成功創業家的驅動力有了更具體的討論和總結。
早期的成長經歷
成功創業家的驅動力往往源於深層的心理因素，比如證明自己或是戰勝自卑，這些往往植根於他們的早期成長經歷。有人說過，其實要了解兒子一個好方法就是看看他父親的故事。
以丘吉爾為例，他與他父親的關係可能是推動邱吉爾最大動力。丘吉爾的父親是一位顯赫的政治家，對他寄予厚望。丘吉爾仰慕他的父親，並尋求他的認可，但他的父親常常缺席，與他相處的時間很少。丘吉爾在政治上取得成功並對世界產生重大影響的決心，部分可以歸功於他想要證明自己值得父親認可的渴望。
Michael Jordan 的競爭本性和成功驅動力在很大程度上受到他的成長環境和與父親 James Jordan 的關係的影響。James 不僅將籃球和棒球引入了 Michael 的生活，還通過自己的榜樣教會了他勤奮工作和堅持不懈的價值。James 在 1993 年被謀殺後，Michael 經歷了深刻的打擊和悲痛，他短暫退役，但最終回歸籃壇，並將對父親的回憶作為成功的動力。在 Michael Jordan 自傳的最後他說：”Am I good enough, Dad?“
Tiger Woods 也有類似的故事，他看到父母為他的高爾夫興趣所做的犧牲，激發了他不想讓父母失望的強烈決心。他父親告訴他 ”You don’t deserve it, You earn it”，點燃了他的競爭精神，同時 Tiger 也說過 ”The best thing about those practices was that my father always kept it fun and you will surprise how much you can learn when you truly enjoy doing something ”，與父親一起快樂的練習是他對高爾夫執著的主要原因之一。
讓人們記得你
拿破崙曾說：「如果你死了，你的名字不為人所知，那你的人生就是無用的。」這似乎對Sam Altman 產生了巨大影響。當 Sam 在 2018 年開始 OpenAI之後，曾說 “The Mind of Napoleon” 對他來說是最重要的書，他並不關注任何新公司，但他認為這本書非常有趣，或許，Sam的最終驅動力可能來自於留下持久的名聲，即使這會讓你犧牲很多東西。(這句是這次 drama 發生之前寫的，現在回頭看好像又更證明這件事了）
許多成功的創業家都等到他們職業生涯的末期或知道自己將要死去時，才記錄他們所知道的一切，以造福後代，這種留下 legacy 的衝動是這些偉大企業家的共同特點。Waltmart 的創始人Sam Walton、蘋果的創始人Steve Jobs、IKEA的創始人Ingvar Kamprad都是這樣。
錢、名、權
要了解人們的價值觀和優先順序，一個有趣的方法是請他們對金錢、權力和名望進行排名。Patrick 注意到，大多數人一開始回答這個問題時並不準確，但經過幾個追問，他們的排名可能會發生變化。
通常，人們可能會將金錢、名聲和權力按這個順序排列，權力的定義可能詮釋為改變世界的能力更為恰當，在問人們對金錢、權力和名望進行排名之後，可以再追問他們：「一旦得到你想要的東西，你會怎麼做？」有時候這個問題可以看出那個人的公開偏好是否與他們的實際行為一致。
為他人而生的創業家？
金錢、名望和權力之後，創業家 motivation 的下一個迭代是什麼呢？Patrick 發現為他人做事是一個可能。Aravind Eye Hospitals 由 Govindappa Venkataswamy 創立，它是世界上最具革命性的組織之一，他們的目標是 ”Emiminate Needless Blindess”，Aravind 用這個簡單但強大無比的 Mission 吸引了無數人才為這個目標努力，以不到發達世界成本的1% 提供與之相等或超越的手術結果，超過一半的病人免費接受治療，並且不接受任何資助或捐贈，成為世界最大的眼科醫療體系之一。當 Dr. Venkataswamy 要達成他的目標時，持續思考如何讓 Aravind 變成麥當勞，把白內障手術變成標準化流程將成本降到最低，在他的筆記中，他寫的是 ”How do I become a more perfect instrument?” 他把自己當成一個工具，就只是完成這個任務的工具。這樣的思考方式讓他真正成為「為他人而做」的創業家。
其他有共同的特質包括：
Ego 是一件好事嗎？
David 發現，許多創業家被展現自我能力的動力所驅動，他們想向父母、朋友甚至整個社會證明自己，「我夠屌，或許我能讓這看似瘋狂的點子成功」， 這顯示成功的創業家往往具有一定程度的 Ego，或許白話一點就是要有一點「中二」，然而，這份自信不應變成傲慢，否則當人們對他們的成就表示讚賞時，創業家可能會誤以為這是對自己人格的崇拜，結果可能導致他們自滿，並失去那份帶來成功的初心和努力。
好的 Founder 都是營銷天才
Enzo Ferrari 利用他在 Le Mans 賽事的勝利來替 Ferrari 行銷，讓 Ferrari 品牌與勝利、威望掛上等號，與客戶見面時永遠戴上墨鏡，挑選可以購買車子的客戶，讓品牌形象更添自己的個性，"a Ferrari has to be desired" 。
Edwin Land 與 Steve Jobs 一樣，會詳細計畫好簡報的細節可以完整呈現人們需要這個產品的原因，他發明了減少夜間開車時對面車輛大燈造成眩光的偏光膜。為了展示這一創新，他計算了太陽的位置，租下特定視角的酒店房間，他在那裡放了一個魚缸，邀請了他試圖銷售的人，在完美的時刻展示了光線通過窗戶照射在有無偏光膜的魚缸上的效果，這就是他如何說服他們購買的。
當 Walt Disney 計畫建造遊樂園並尋求資金時，他向 ABC 提出合作，通過製作一週一集的節目獲取投資。節目不僅播放迪士尼動畫，也會展示：“嘿，這是我們在樂園裡正在做的事情”，基本上就像是一個每週都有人願意看的廣告。結果，該節目成為電視收視率最高的節目之一，開園首日還造成了橙縣史上最大交通擁堵。當 Walt Disney 打造世界最好的產品時，同時也打造了最好的營銷活動。
High-agency
所有創業家無疑都非常積極。然而，David 對 “high-agency founder” 的定義更具體：「面對拒絕，立刻採取下一步行動。」這意味著無論遇到產品方向錯誤、投資人的拒絕、或是員工離職等挑戰，這些創業中的常見情況都不會影響他們繼續前進的決心。
他認為 Sam Zemurray 是他看過的 Founders 最有行動力的，他在中美洲國家如瓜地馬拉和宏都拉斯的香蕉貿易中積累起巨額財富，他在與當地政府談判時不惜採用各種手段，包括賄賂，常常左右當地政治局勢，甚至引起美國政府告誡他遠離這些政治操作，但Zemurray沒有閃躲，甚至資助政變軍隊以確保他的商業利益。雖然資助軍隊、推翻政府過於極端，但可以看到有很強行動力的 Founder 會找到意想不到的方式實現公司的目標。
在我過去半年多與 Founder 的交流過程中，大部分都希望有影響力，產品很多人用等等，但還在學習的是如何感受這份執著到底有多深，不一定是刻苦銘心的經歷，有可能單純對某些事情無窮盡的好奇心。聽完 Patrick 與 David 討論之後最重要的啟示是： 從 Aravind Eye Hospitals 案例可以看出，創業家那些看似奇怪的思考方式—比如視自己為實現更大使命的工具—實際上能顯示他們動機的堅定程度。這些細微的思維特點通常反映了深層的、難以言喻的執著，也是創業家在困難中堅持、在逆境中成長的最重要驅動力。
我也仍在學習如何從更多不同角度細緻地探索創業家的動機及其強度。要了解一個創業家，Ｗho、What、When 也都是關鍵的資訊來源，而不應僅僅著眼於 Why — 例如詢問為何創業、為何選擇這個題目等。
Who :是誰影響你，可能是某個創業家偶像、家庭成員、或是兄弟姊妹
What: 有什麼事件影響你讓你下定決心要解決這個問題
When: 不同時間點上的人或事件，這些都可能進一步加深或驗證一個人的動機是否始終強烈
下一個等級是 How，你的思考邏輯是不是有因為這個 motivation 而有所變化，而這就是 Govindappa Venkataswamy 所展現出來的動機與執著強度。
最後附上這個 Sam 1 分鐘的演講當結尾。
“The most underrated quality of all is being determined, more important than being smart, having network, or having a great idea.”
ego那段文字，很有共鸣。