Tech Investor Explains What He Looks for in Great Founders

In this episode of the Leadership Exchange podcast, Tracy Lee sits down with Atlanta-based investor, coach, and creator Von Wright for an honest conversation about purpose, transformation, and building a better future for yourself both personally and professionally. Von shares his journey from corporate success to finding deeper meaning in the “second half of life”, how personal challenges sparked radical change, and why he now focuses on impact-driven work. Von also breaks down why it’s important to invest in a healthy human economy and what he looks for in purpose-driven founders.Key points from this episode:- Von Wright shares how personal challenges pushed him to leave a successful corporate career and pursue more meaningful, purpose-driven work in the second half of his life.- He explains Zane Venture Fund’s focus on improving human health as a way to build a stronger, more sustainable economy.- He talks about creating Lifters of Men, a group that helps men through life transitions and encourages service, accountability, and support.- He describes what he looks for in founders, including a deep sense of purpose, lived experience with the problem, humility, and resilience.Chapters00:00 Trusting Yourself Over Outside Advice01:12 Meet Von Wright and the Many Roles He Plays04:47 What the Second Half of Life Really Means08:01 Futurecasting and the Pull to Create13:58 How Venture Capital Became a Path to Purpose15:43 What a Healthy Human Economy Looks Like21:04 Red Flags and Green Lights in Founders27:06 Von’s Personal Breaking Point and Reinvention32:28 The Question to Ask When You're at a Crossroads34:44 Tuning Out the Noise to Find Your PurposeFollow Von Wright on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vonwright/Follow Tracy Lee on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracyslee/This Dot Labs Twitter: https://x.com/ThisDotLabsThis Dot Media Twitter: https://x.com/ThisDotMediaThis Dot Labs Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisdotlabs/This Dot Labs Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisdot/This Dot Labs Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/thisdotlabs.bsky.socialSponsored by This Dot Labs: ai.thisdot.co