Founder Background Success Patterns

The speakers discuss their pattern recognition and biases when it comes to investing in founders, highlighting specific backgrounds they've found to correlate with success.

• Strong Founder Background Signals:

  • Military veterans
  • Immigrants
    • Particularly those who lived in the US illegally for a period
  • Israeli Jews
  • Mormons
  • Russians
  • Single parents
    • "You already did the hardest thing of your life"

• Past Experience Signals:

  • Early entrepreneurial activities:
    • Flipping cars
    • Flipping shoes on eBay
  • "Shady internet" experience:
    • Affiliate marketing
    • Internet arbitrage
    • Dating site marketing

• Investment Philosophy:

  • These backgrounds make them "lean in" and become more interested
  • Shows inherent bias towards founders with these specific experiences
  • Value placed on demonstrated hustle and resourcefulness
  • Appreciation for those who've overcome significant challenges

• Pattern Recognition:

  • These groups often show strong entrepreneurial traits
  • Past struggles or unconventional paths viewed as valuable experience
  • Focus on demonstrated grit and determination through life circumstances

The speakers acknowledge these are their personal biases in pattern recognition, suggesting these backgrounds often correlate with successful founders in their experience.