Who teaches each generation of startup innovators? It’s not Peter Thiel interviews and Hacker News Forums. Meet Ilya: The Stanford professor who’s quietly mentoring the next generation of world-class business leaders.
Ilya Strebulaev is a Stanford professor, an economist, and an expert in corporate finance. He teaches several graduate-level courses to future entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and industry leaders.
Recently, Ilya appeared on the The Motley Fool podcast and shared three attributes that investors seek out when searching for founders who are capable of delivering “home run” investments:
1. Charisma 😏
Venture investors want to know that a founder has the charisma to convince other founders to follow them as employees, customers, investors, or partners.
This kind of magnetism can be difficult to define, but he says that when you see it, you know it.
1. Passion 🤩
The startup journey is long and difficult. If a founder isn’t passionate about the problem they’re solving, they will inevitably burn out and fail.
Simply put, a founder needs to love what they do.
1. Resilience 🛡️
Behind every successful company, there are dozens of stories of near misses and mistakes. Failure is a fundamental part of the job of being a founder.
The founders who are able to recover from the inevitable catastrophes are the ones who are most likely to be successful.
Want to listen to the entire conversation? Check out the link in the comments 👇
https://www.fool.com/podcasts/motley-fool-money/2024-05-26-finding-home-run-investments/