
Lesser Known Traits of Successful Founders - joshuacc
http://www.softwarebyrob.com/2010/09/16/lesser-known-traits-of-successful-founders/
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ancornwell
Actual Lesser Known Traits of Successful Founders: 1\. Private high school 2\.
Supportive parents/mentors/friends (most likely parents, if on the younger
side) 3\. Sleep deprived, yet energetic 4\. Addiction-prone 5\. Nothing to
lose

Just a few trends I have noticed over the past year.

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joshuacc
A spouse capable of financially supporting the founder while things are
starting out seems common as well.

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ancornwell
Also a very good point. Being surrounded by supportive people improves focus
for sure.

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dennykmiu
There is an old saying in my home country that basically says, "getting your
hair wet.". The idea is that as you are washing your hair, you will slowly
come to a point when you have shampoo on your head. That's when you know you
are fully committed and there is only one acceptable outcome, otherwise you
look silly no matter how much you try to explain your predicament. In my
experience as an entrepreneur, the hard part is getting to that point of no
return and the even harder part is to get out. Most people who wants to be
entrepreneur but never do is because they are too rational to put themselves
in that predicament. But as Yoda would say, "you do or you don't, but you must
get wet first." I love this article. Good luck everyone.

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mdg
> Try not. Do or do not, there is no try

Is what the Jedi master said (RIP).

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dennykmiu
You're correct ... Try not. Wet or no wet. There is no dry.

I knew something was lost in translation ... ;-)

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mdg
Sorry if I came across as the comic book guy from the Simpsons

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dennykmiu
You were the perfect straight man. Thanks.

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krschultz
"We all know the guy who moves from one idea to the next and never finishes
anything. He’s freakishly smart, but leaves a trail of half-finished carnage
in his wake. Staying focused is a huge part of being successful."

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theli0nheart
Mark Zuckerberg fits this description perfectly, at least from what I glean
before he started Facebook. Facebook just took off so quickly that he
_couldn't_ get bored of it.

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jonpaul
I couldn't emphasize the part on focus. If you can't focus, you got problems.
It seems to me that a lot of entrepreneurs suffer from entrepreneurial ADD.
I've noticed that that's one key differences between those who succeed and
those who don't.

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joshuacc
I suspect that there is a higher than normal occurrence of _actual_ ADD in
tech businesses.

Edit: Not sure why, but it looks like somebody decided that every comment on
this post was worthy of a downvote. Seems strange.

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enjo
I've said it before and I'll say it again. There is one and only one trait
that I've seen in common between successful founders:

Great founders are _obsessively_ analytical. Plain and simple.

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rwalling
I've known many founders who don't have this trait. There's no single trait
that all founders share.

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astrofinch
Nitpick: enjo referred only to _successful_ founders.

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stevederico
"I have a rule that I never spend money on an idea in the first 48 hours."
waiting 2-3 days before moving forward is also a great tip.

