TLDR: “What do you like about her as a founder?” … “She’s a maniac, in a good way. An outlier.”
A few weeks back I wrote about qualities I look for in founders.
One quality got an outsized reaction:
Don't invest in any founder who you couldn't describe as an animal or a maniac (in a good way)
People wanted to know what that meant, and if it excluded introverts.
And others reacted by sharing alternative labels: grit, x-factor, killer instinct, magical.
Since it seemed to resonate, I thought I would share a few signs of a maniac founder.
Their passion borders on obsession—everything is about forward progress—it’s an intense intrinsic motivation
They tend to respond almost immediately to texts, emails, and calls
There is a simplicity and focus in how they represent their work—while startup land is chaos, maniacs tend to know exactly what is important
They’re independent thinkers, not afraid to challenge someone or simply go their own way after taking in all of the relevant information
They’re autodidacts—constantly consuming knowledge
They have a sense of self-confidence and personal potential
They see the world as malleable not fixed
They don’t work 9-5, they manage their energy and treat work as a core part of their life, not a thing to balance
They tend to be extremely brief, but on occasion, extremely long-winded with unmatched depth
They routinely go beyond reasonable expectations
They’re magnets for talent
They focus on customer value and objective truths
They have the ability to inspire others
They move uncomfortably fast—particularly on hard things like firing people
Whether it’s writing code or closing customers, introvert or extrovert, there are outliers of all kinds. The question is, how do you know if they’re truly an outlier? Truly a maniac?
See you Monday.