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Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry cover image

Alexis Ohanian – From Reddit to 776, a Technology Company that Deploys Venture Capital (EP.388)

Capital Allocators – Inside the Institutional Investment Industry

NOTE

Qualities of a Successful Startup Founder

A successful startup founder needs to be a compelling communicator who can explain complex ideas in a simple and confident way. They must also demonstrate resilience by showcasing past achievements in challenging situations. It's crucial for founders to be driven by a deeper passion than just financial gain, as starting a startup is a grueling journey filled with challenges where they must rely on their own determination and perseverance. The decision to start a startup should stem from a burning desire to solve a problem or fill a need in the world, even if it means enduring tough times without external support.

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at least one of the founders needs to be a very compelling communicator. There's this je ne sais quoi around it. There are traits you look for. They're probably not using a lot of jargon. They can speak plainly and confidently about what they know. And it's such a nuanced thing, but that one seems to be over and over again, one of the clear differentiators. There's another one around resilience that we look for. And again, that's a hard one. You can't ask someone, hey, tell me your most resilient time or are you resilient? Yes or no. But you look for things that they've built or done in the past. This is going to get hard. Starting a startup, the moment you're meeting me, this is literally your first check. There are much better ways to spend the next decade of your life if you want to make money. I to talk people out of starting a startup all the time. As much as I try to broadly encourage people to consider starting a startup, I also want to just say, gut check, do not do this for wealth. Do not do this if you're just trying to make some money because there's smarter ways to do it. Do this because you lose sleep at night because this thing doesn't exist. And you want to bring it into the world, kicking and screaming, knowing that it will suck for extended periods of time. And you're going to have to be the one to pick yourself up. Don't even count on your co-founders. Don't even count on your investors. Don't even count on your friends and family. It will be on you. And if that is a road you want to go down, if you want to chew the glass and stare into the abyss, then okay, great. We need people like you, but try to talk folks out of it. So these are the elements that we look for. And what's so fun

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