Tee Up CREAM, Wu Tang Forever
In my day to day job at Wefunder I'm talking to 5-10 founders every day. That's 30-50 a week. 100 a month. All day, every day, for five years. I spend more time talking to founders than any other thing in life. I love it.
While the majority of the time, I'm focused on how I can help them get the capital they need. I also hear about their day to day, what they're working on, how they're doing. You pick up a lot when you're shooting the shit. Generally talking about what's going particularly well (the good), the biggest challenges with the business (the bad), or some batshit crazy shit that's going down (the ugly and beautiful).
It's so fun, and I've picked up a lot of little insights along the way. Pattern matching. Over thousands of conversations, high level themes that regularly cycle. This list was designed around the themes and best practices for raising capital, but very much apply to the art of entrepreneurship. Here's my top 8 traits I've seen in the best founders I've worked with.
Hustle
It’s going to be a lot of work. It’s a grind. You have to just go for it. The key is getting in front of people, which is harder earlier on. Aspire to have new connections from every person you talk to. Take notes, track every conversation, and have a thoughtful engagement strategy.
Confidence and Conviction
You have to believe in what you’re doing and articulate why you are the right person to execute. You need to be willing to pitch friends, family, and your extended network. If you don’t have confidence and conviction, it won’t work.
Resilience
You're going to get rejected. Celebrate the rejections. Use them as fuel to keep going. Channel them into positive energy. If you're not willing to get rejected, you won’t succeed. Every founder gets rejected. The key is that you don’t stop and show resilience.
Storytelling
Telling the right story is half the battle. Invest time, attention, and thought into the right narrative. It’s different for every founder. Don’t follow a template (e.g. problem / solution / traction / team). Highlight your best assets. Tell an interesting story.
Traction
Nothing beats traction. Find traction wherever you can. You can be creative in how you demonstrate traction. That’s what people want to see, people like rocking with "winners" so state yourself as such. Focus on it and promote the wins.
Prioritization
In order to be successful, you must dedicate the time. Founders have many competing priorities, but fundraising does not work without making it a priority.
Positivity
Startups are hard. Raising capital is hard. The grind is hard. Being vulnerable is hard. The rejection is hard. Having a growth mindset and positive outlook is critical.
Accountability
Your success is yours to own.
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This is pretty high level, but if you can really consume and apply these principles, you'll be successful as a founder. Much easier said than done. It's all about mindset (mamba).
For more thoughts on mindset, fundraising, and startups check out my podcast Hustle Hard.