👀 Founder Traits—and where to find them
Founders Factory Startup Bulletin #44
This is the Startup Bulletin—written for founders, by founders. Each month we bring you a round-up of startup and investment stories, key learnings from founders, and insights from the Founders Factory team.
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Tom Hulme, Managing Partner at Google Ventures, has backed some of Europe’s most promising startups—the likes of Lemonade, Multiverse, GoCardless, and Blockchain.com.
So what does he look for in his early stage investments?
“If I have shown interest in your business and your product, then it’s more likely that I’m actually trying to understand how the person sitting opposite me (e.g. the founder) is actually thinking about the problem.”
This underlines a near-universally accepted truth—that the founder themself is as important, if not more important, than the business. So what should you be looking for in a founder?
In this month’s newsletter, we share insights from our Venture Studio talent team, who hire 10+ founders every year to build and lead our businesses. They’ve created a practical guide to killer traits we look for in founders, and how to self-assess for them.
Also in today’s Startup Bulletin:
What we’ve been reading this month
Highlights from FF and our global portfolio
Upcoming opportunities, events, roles in tech
👀 5 killer founder traits—and how to assess for them
By Raluca Ciobancan, Head of Talent Investing, and Sara Foster, Talent & Community Lead
1. High risk appetite
A strong risk appetite is non-negotiable for founders. Building a startup is anything but a safe bet, and we’re looking for those who can embrace uncertainty and keep pushing, even with odds stacked against them. Timing matters, too; founders need to be ready to trade a stable job for the wild ride of entrepreneurship, focusing on the potential upside rather than the inherent risks. Cat Jones did exactly that, launching Byway, a flight-free travel company, during COVID—betting big that travellers would lean toward greener options post-pandemic. Her risk paid off, with Byway closing £5M in Series A, and thriving across Europe.
Ask yourself:
Have your career decisions in the past been proactive or reactive (e.g. are you consciously taking steps forward, even when risks are involved)?
Regarding previous founding experience (not essential but a positive), are you comfortable with navigating unknowns, acting decisively in the face of uncertainty and adversity?
2. Balance of IQ and EQ
We look for founders who balance smarts with empathy—people who understand the problem deeply and care about the users they’re building for. Great founders connect with customers and inspire their teams by leading with humanity and self-awareness, creating a culture that thrives on impact and growth. Nila founder Anthony Jacob exemplified this, building trust with customers through empathy and a personal commitment to their needs, which has been key to his business’s success.
Ask yourself:
Are you able to put yourself in the shoes of your potential customers—and do you have examples of this?
What characteristics would you look for in a co-founder that would compliment your own? (this demonstrates your ability to open and reflective about your strengths and gaps)
3. Authority to build
We look for founder-market fit—founders with a compelling reason and deep experience to lead in their chosen space. It’s a mix of personal insight and industry know-how that makes them stand out. For instance, Ogma’s Louise Weiss demonstrated to us both expertise and passion, blending her background in cognitive neuroscience and years in children’s language development with entrepreneurial drive, giving her a powerful edge in transforming speech therapy with AI.
Ask yourself:
What is your reason for winning in this space?
How are you using your experience to think differently about this problem?
4. Magnetism
Magnetic founders draw in the best talent, investors, and customers—they inspire people to think, “I want to be part of this.” Storytelling is key. Early-stage startups start with zero credibility—especially if they’re aiming to disrupt the status quo. Good storytelling lets founders paint a vivid picture of where they are, where they’re headed, and why you’ll want to be part of the ride.
Ask yourself:
Do you have a clear, compelling pitch?
Are you able to get people excited about your vision, and about the possibility of working with you?
5. Ability to find shortcuts
Great founders know how to hack their way forward, finding shortcuts and clever workarounds when resources are tight. They think “How can I make this work?” instead of getting bogged down by obstacles. Resourcefulness is a game-changer, setting apart founders who act quickly and inventively.
Ask yourself:
Entrepreneurship can be demonstrated anywhere—where have you used it as a skill?
What’s a time you’ve shown creativity to overcome big problems with limited resources?
📚 What we’ve been reading this month
Elon Dreams and Bitter Lessons (Stratechery)
The next big areas of competition (McKinsey)
The State of AI Report 2024 (Nathan Benaich, Air Street Capital)
Generative AI’s Act o1 (Sequoia)
Machines of Loving Grace (Dario Amodei)
🚀 Highlights from Founders Factory & our global portfolio
We announced our expansion into Singapore, partnering with Enterprise Singapore (the government-backed agency for startup development) to launch a new Deep Tech Venture Studio and operating hub
We announced the inaugural cohorts for our climate and deep tech programs based in Perth. Our Rio Tinto Mining Tech cohort includes companies transforming mineral recovery and discovery processes, while our WA Nature Tech cohort stretches across agtech, marine restoration, and cultural competency.
Perlego announced their latest funding round, raising $20M to build out a new suite of AI learning tools for their edtech platform
Our team attended Climate Week NYC, co-hosting a dinner with HSBC’s leadership team around decarbonisation, as well as the Ocean Innovator’s Platform with our colleagues at Blue Action Accelerator
Digital beauty concierge platform Ruuby raised $2.6M as they grow their platform in France and Switzerland
martee ai, who have built the first demand forecasting tool for the food-on-the-go industry, closed their first round of funding
Winx’s at-home UTI Test was named in Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2024. Winx is a e-commerce store for sexual and vaginal health products
📍 Upcoming opportunities in tech
📆 Events
Pitch Perfect (November 12th, Online)—startups get the opportunity to pitch live & receive instant feedback from a panel of VCs including FF investor Claire Mongeau. Apply or register to attend here
💼 Roles
We’re hiring for a number of entrepreneur-in-residence roles in our Venture Studio—a chance to work closely with the Founders Factory team & our corporate partners to lead and build new concepts.
Founder & CEO at MietMagie (Vonovia)—building a neo-bank with built-in rewards for the rental sector. Find out more
Founder & CEO at InsureAI (Aviva)—building agentic insurance infrastructure. Find out more
Founding Engineer at Virtuals (Pico)—leveraging generative AI to transform social media. Find out more
Check out all our open positions here
See you next month 👋
Interested in reading more of the same insights? Check out the Founders Factory blog, and previous newsletters.