A degree doesn't make a good founder
Grit and perseverance trump your diploma
💬 Quote of the week
“Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.” - Cameron (not Einstein)
🔗 My favourite links
Handcrafting: do things that don’t scale (Podcast)
Fantastic presentation on doing experiments and learning (YouTube)
a16z 300-page guide on hiring and scaling your business (Free e-book)
📜 A degree doesn’t make a good founder
People often ask me: "What was a good team you worked with?"
I worked with almost 500 founders. It was never the idea that I remember. It's always the people.
Not just intelligence. Sure, on average, degrees and intelligence correlate.
However, it's always a combination of intelligence leading to fast learning and deep motivation leading to being eager and gritty.
There's nothing to learn from without being eager and getting out there.
Result: your degree turns into a hammock, and you won't get far.
I rather have a deeply motivated slow learner than an unmotivated fast learner.
My favourite founder traits
Doesn’t mind getting their hands dirty, and enjoys the grind
Good listener, eager learner
More important: Asks good questions, and is not easily satisfied with the first answer
Doesn’t push for their idea to win but is eager to find the best idea
Says ‘thanks for sharing this’, even though not sure if it’s valuable, encourages sharing of ideas
Can take criticism in a non-personal way
Dares to aim high and dream big
What am I missing? Respond in the comments!