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Telling the stories of startup founders and creators and their unique journey. Each episode features actionable tips, practical advice and inspirational insight.
00:00:00:00 - 00:00:28:11
Ever wonder what really sets successful founders apart? We've all heard the stories of visionaries who build billion dollar businesses from scratch. But what's the secret sauce? When you look at those individuals. I'm Greg Moran, co-founder of Evergreen Mountain Equity Partners. I'm host of the Founders Journey podcast. At Evergreen Mountain are number one reason for making an investment as a venture capitalist, as a VC fund is our confidence in the founders.
00:00:28:14 - 00:00:52:28
We just conducted some groundbreaking research that we revealed that really revealed the four defining traits of every successful founder that we look at, that they really these traits that they really share in common. So these traits are what we are part of, what we call the entrepreneurial adaptive innovator archetype. So it's kind of a new AI model. The adaptive innovator model.
00:00:53:01 - 00:01:13:29
And today I'm going to break them down for you and explain why they're critical and show you how you can really leverage them in your own entrepreneurial journey or if you're an investor in startups, how you can really understand those founders that you're considering investing in a little bit better. So let's kick things off with the first trait of the for creative resilience.
00:01:14:05 - 00:01:40:03
So if you're going to succeed as a founder this is non-negotiable. Founders like Brian Chesky from Airbnb or Sofia Amoruso of Nasty Gal, they didn't just have a great idea, but they had the resilience to navigate massive obstacles while staying creative. Let's just look at Chesky story. Everybody knows Airbnb. Airbnb wasn't born in some glamorous office or, you know, with a bunch of VC funding behind them.
00:01:40:03 - 00:02:04:28
In the beginning, it came to life because Chesky and his co-founder were broke. Sound familiar? As part of the entrepreneurial journey. They were struggling to pay rent. They were creatively hustling to survive. They started by renting out air mattresses in their apartment during a big conference in San Francisco, because they couldn't find hotel rooms. That hustle became the foundation for a multi-billion-dollar company that we now know is Airbnb.
00:02:05:01 - 00:02:34:17
Creative resilience is all about driving under pressure. In fact, what our research showed is that successful founders don't just survive challenges. They innovate through them. It's what causes innovation for them. It's this ability to solve problems in new ways, to think outside the box, to bounce back from failure. That sets the best founders apart. So just ask yourself, how do you react when things don't go as planned?
00:02:34:19 - 00:03:04:00
Do you innovate or default? Every founder we've studied who's made it big has this relentless drive to find solutions when others around them are giving up. It's not just grit. It's being creatively resourceful in the toughest times. Next up. Second trait is humble assertiveness, and this 1st May surprise you. I know what you're thinking. Entrepreneurs are supposed to be this larger than life dominant personalities, right?
00:03:04:04 - 00:03:29:06
And in some rare cases, that might be the case. But that's not exactly the case. Usually what our research found is that the most successful founders, people like Whitney Wolfe Herd, who founded Bumble, for Evan Williams, who founded Twitter. Great examples. They're not domineering people in the room. Instead, what they really do is influence through collaboration and a low ego approach.
00:03:29:12 - 00:03:54:14
So Whitney Wolfe heard good example here. Didn't build Bumble by taking control or being overly aggressive. Her leadership style is really about empowering others and creating a collaborative culture. So by allowing others to make decisions, she built a team that felt ownership in that team was willing to go the extra mile when they needed to. Humble assertiveness isn't just about finding balance.
00:03:54:17 - 00:04:18:08
You have to know when to assert yourself and when to drive your vision forward. It's finding that balance that's the trickiest part. But you also have to know when to step back and let your team strengths shine. There's a time and a place for different styles of leadership. Humble assertiveness is really understanding when to assert and when to pull back.
00:04:18:10 - 00:04:42:09
So what our research really showed is that founders who practice humble assertiveness are better at attracting top talent, and they're better at building culture of innovation because they listen and they adapt. So here's the takeaway. Don't mistake assertiveness for aggression. True leadership is off to quiet. It's deliberate and it's collaborative. And that's what brings people along on your journey.
00:04:42:15 - 00:05:08:00
So if you want long term success, start practicing humble assertiveness today. All right. So let's talk about the third one. We want to talk about risk. Balanced risk taking to be specific. The idea that founders have to be extreme risk takers is a myth. In fact, what our data actually showed is that most successful founders don't just jump headfirst into risky ventures, but they're very calculated.
00:05:08:00 - 00:05:32:14
They know when to take a gamble and they know when to play it safe. Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn, a great example of this. He could have gone the traditional route of building a broad social platform, but what he did was instead, he made the calculated decision to focus specifically on professionals. He bet on LinkedIn being the go to platform for career networking, but it wasn't a reckless move.
00:05:32:16 - 00:05:59:03
It was a balanced risk that he saw based on very clear market demand. Then take Jessica Alba, founder of The Honest Company. She took a calculated risk by entering a really crowded consumer goods market, but she did it with a really unique twist. She focused on nontoxic, eco friendly products, so it was a risk, but it was one rooted really in a deep understanding of consumer desires for safer products.
00:05:59:07 - 00:06:21:00
Balance risk takers aren't reckless. They're strategic. They know how to weigh the pros and cons. They know when to push forward and when to pull back. And what our research found was that this approach not only reduces failure rates, but it helps founders really weather storms much more effectively. So if you're looking to launch or scale your business, remember it's not about a avoiding risk.
00:06:21:00 - 00:06:45:13
You're never going to do that as a founder. It's or investing in startups. It's about managing those risks wisely. Be strategic with your risks. Ask your founders to be strategic with their risks. Coach them to be strategic with the risk. If you're an investor. Make sure they're informed by data, not just gut feeling. And now for the final trade and possibly the most important strategic accountability.
00:06:45:16 - 00:07:08:00
This one will serve you well in every aspect of life. Successful founders are accountable for their actions, their decisions, and even their mistakes. They don't blame. They don't pass the buck and they don't hide from tough situations. They face them head on. And that's what builds trust with their teams, with their investors, with their customers and everybody around them.
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So Daniel Ek of Spotify is a great example of this. He's been incredibly transparent about the early challenges that Spotify was really facing, from licensing deals to profitability concerns, but that transparency is his willing to admit they admit when things weren't perfect has really built immense trust with his investors and his user base. Strategic accountability is all about owning your decisions, good and bad.
00:07:33:01 - 00:07:57:27
It's about communicating openly with your team. It's about seeking feedback and making tough calls when necessary. So founders like Tristan Walker, Tristan Walker and company to address the underserved health and beauty needs for people of color, led with transparency and accountability every step of the way. And that's what created loyalty and trust in his customer base. So if you want to build a sustainable business, you need to lead with accountability.
00:07:57:27 - 00:08:23:24
You need to own your choices, need to be transparent about your failures. You need to keep moving forward. The more accountable you are, the more trust you build. And in the end, that's really what scales businesses. So there you have it. The four traits that make up the adaptive innovator model that define the most successful founders in the world creative resilience, humble assertiveness, balanced risk taking, and strategic accountability.
00:08:23:27 - 00:08:45:13
Each of these traits can be cultivated. And if you're serious about building a lasting, meaningful company that has a real impact, they need to be part of your playbook. So what this research comes from is a groundbreaking study that we just released on entrepreneurial success. We put it all together in a white paper that dives even deeper into each of these traits.
00:08:45:16 - 00:09:05:03
So whether you're a founder or an investor or somebody aspiring to launch your own company, you need to download the white paper to see how you can apply these insights to your journey. So hit the link in the description. Grab the white paper. Start building the mindset of a truly unstoppable founder. And if you found value in this video, make sure you like it.
00:09:05:03 - 00:09:16:00
You subscribe and hit the notification bell. So until next time, keep building, keep growing, keep innovating.