What Trait in Founding Teams Indicates Potential Future Success?
VC Realm
What Trait in Founding Teams Indicates Potential Future Success?
In the quest to uncover the hallmark of a promising founding team, we've gathered insights from eight seasoned CEOs and founders. Dive into the collective wisdom of these leaders to find out which single trait they deem most indicative of a startup's future success.
- Discipline Drives Startup Success
- Passion, Diversity, and Hustle Matter
- Adaptability: Key to Overcoming Challenges
- Shared Purpose Unites Successful Teams
- Execution: Turning Vision into Reality
- Grit: The Marathon Mindset
- Growth-Focus and Selling Ability Are Crucial
- Track Record Predicts Future Success
Discipline Drives Startup Success
As a founder and CEO myself, the single trait I value most is discipline. My years at West Point and in the Special Forces taught me that discipline separates the successful from the mediocre. Discipline to put in the work, follow the process, track metrics, and make difficult decisions.
Early on, I struggled for years to build my firm. But through discipline, I volunteered time, networked, and focused on learning my craft. When the 2008 crisis hit, that discipline ensured we were ready. We spent years building scalable processes and an elite team.
Today, that discipline means tracking key metrics daily, reviewing financials weekly, and meeting quarterly to review strategy. It's not glamorous, but it ensures we stay on course. For any startup, discipline builds the foundation for success. With it, you persist until opportunity meets preparation.
Passion, Diversity, and Hustle Matter
As a serial entrepreneur, I look for passion and vision in a founding team. The startups that succeed are the ones driven by a desire to solve a real problem, not just to make money. One example was a team I advised that was obsessed with helping small local farms sell directly to consumers. Their passion for the mission led them to find innovative solutions to complex supply-chain issues. That startup was eventually acquired, allowing the founders to continue pursuing their vision.
I also look for diversity of thought. The best teams have a mix of skills and experiences that complement each other. For example, the co-founders of one of my portfolio companies came from engineering and design backgrounds. By combining technical and creative expertise, they were able to build a beautifully designed product that also worked. Having a mix of left- and right-brain thinkers leads to more thoughtful decision-making.
Finally, I look for hustle and scrappiness. Startups never have enough resources, so you need teams willing to do whatever it takes to make progress. One team I worked with ran growth experiments at night and on weekends because their day jobs didn't leave them enough time. They were creative and resourceful, eventually quitting their jobs to focus on the startup full-time. Hustle and scrappy innovation are hard to teach but critical for success.
Adaptability: Key to Overcoming Challenges
When founding RecurPost, one trait I found indispensable in our team was the ability to rapidly adapt to change. Start-ups often face unpredictable shifts in market conditions, customer needs, and even internal dynamics. The founding team’s capacity to pivot quickly without losing momentum is what truly sets the foundation for long-term success. For instance, when we initially launched, we had to quickly adjust our product strategy based on unexpected user feedback. Our team's agility in making these changes not only helped us stay relevant but also positioned us to outpace competitors who were slower to adapt. This adaptability is something I continue to look for in every new venture or team I build.
Shared Purpose Unites Successful Teams
As the CEO of Business Builders, the single trait I look for in a founding team is a shared purpose. Successful startups are driven by a desire to solve a real problem, not just make money. Their vision connects with customers and motivates the team.
For example, when I started my agency 21 years ago, my purpose was to build a business that gave my family freedom and flexibility. That purpose attracted clients and team members who valued work-life balance. It fueled slow, steady growth that never required outside funding or caused financial stress.
The best founders can see the world through their customers’ eyes and design experiences to genuinely help them. They have empathy, passion, and determination to push through obstacles. One startup I advised was rejected by over 100 investors before finding seed funding. Their grit and perseverance made eventual success possible.
Purpose and empathy are more important than expertise or experience. If a team shares a meaningful vision and cares deeply about solving customer problems, they can figure the rest out. But without purpose, a startup lacks the compass and fuel to steer through challenges. Shared purpose builds longevity. As someone who has helped launch over a dozen tech startups, the single trait I look for is resilience. Founding a startup is hard, and there will be many obstacles, setbacks, and failures along the way. The teams that have the determination and perseverance to work through those challenges are the ones that ultimately succeed.
I've seen founding teams argue and want to quit when facing product issues, key employee departures, or running out of funding. The teams that stuck together, learned from their mistakes, and continued moving forward are the ones that built great companies. One example is a startup I helped that had to pivot their product four times in the first year. Each pivot was difficult, but the team was committed to making it work. Their resilience led to fast growth and eventual acquisition.
The ability to fail fast, learn, and adapt is key. Technologies, markets, and customer needs are constantly changing. Teams that are able to adapt to change, learn new skills, and pivot as needed tend to be more successful. At one startup, we had to completely change our product direction and learn a new tech stack on the fly to meet customer demands. It was difficult but led to fast growth. The ability to learn and adapt is what allows startups to survive in such a dynamic environment.
Execution: Turning Vision into Reality
As someone with over a decade of experience helping build tech startups, the single most important trait I look for is execution. Founding teams need to be able to execute on their vision and turn ideas into reality. The ability to execute comes down to several factors:
Focus. Successful teams are able to focus on the critical priorities and avoid distractions. They put in the work required to achieve key milestones. At one startup, we had to rebuild our platform to meet a tight deadline. Staying focused for 12-16-hour days is what allowed us to deliver.
Problem-solving. Obstacles and roadblocks are inevitable. Top teams are able to think on their feet, troubleshoot issues, and find solutions. They don't make excuses—they get to work resolving problems. When migrating a client's site, we faced technical challenges that required innovative fixes. Persistence and out-of-the-box thinking saved the project.
Adaptability. Markets and technology change quickly. Teams that can adapt to change tend to fare better. For one startup, we had to completely revamp our product to match new customer needs. Although difficult, adapting was key to growth.
The ability to execute, in my experience, is the single greatest determinant of a startup's success. With focus, problem-solving skills, and adaptability, founding teams can achieve remarkable things. The startups I've seen fail lacked the execution to make their vision a reality. For new founders, developing these execution skills should be a top priority.
Grit: The Marathon Mindset
When we assess a founding team, the trait that really stands out is grit. It's not just about working hard or having a great idea—it's about having the tenacity to stick with it, no matter how tough things get. Angela Duckworth put it best: 'Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint.' That's what we look for—the teams that aren't just in it for the quick wins, but are ready to go the distance, turning every setback into a step forward. When a team has that kind of grit, I know they've got what it takes to weather any storm and come out stronger on the other side.
Growth-Focus and Selling Ability Are Crucial
Founding teams come in all sizes and shapes, and previous performance is often, alas, 'previous performance is not a guarantee of future results'—the phrase that any VC has to live with. Experienced venture investors look for teams that are growth-focused, numbers-driven, and can not only build a product/service but also scale their business. My favorite type of founder is someone who is always selling: selling to the team, to investors, to the press, to distributors, but, most importantly, to customers. As an investor and board member of several startups, which became unicorns, I recall that every unicorn founder has had this incredible knack for SELLING.
Track Record Predicts Future Success
Future success is best indicated by past success, AKA track record. This takes many forms: exited founder, CxO at a VC-backed scale-up, VP at a Big Tech company, ex-MBB or bulge-bracket bank, or even just graduating from an Ivy/MIT/Stanford. It comes down to showing past success doing hard things in highly selective and competitive environments. Of course, past performance is not indicative of future results. But in the world of VC, where nothing is certain, this is as good a proxy as you can get.
