𝗦𝗮𝗺 𝗔𝗹𝘁𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 $𝟭𝟬 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 Sam Altman, the legend behind OpenAI and Y Combinator. He believes predicting a billion-dollar idea is tough—but spotting a founder who could build one is a skill you can develop. Here are the 𝟗 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐬 he looks for: 𝟭. 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 Great founders live and breathe their idea. It’s not a side project—it’s their life’s mission. 𝟮. 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 They say no to distractions and stay locked in on the problem they’re solving. 𝟯. 𝗙𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 They don’t waste money. They make every dollar count. 𝟰. 𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲 They deeply love what they’re building. Without passion, they won’t survive the hard days. 𝟱. 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 Ideas aren’t enough. The best founders generate new ideas every week. If they can’t, they’ll fail. 𝟲. 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Hiring, fundraising, selling—everything depends on a founder’s ability to communicate clearly and persuasively. 𝟳. 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 The best founders move fast. They test, iterate, and execute with relentless speed. Slow-moving founders rarely succeed. 𝟴. 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 The best founders don’t start out as Brian Chesky (Airbnb), but they improve so quickly that they get there. Growth rate matters more than starting point. 𝟵. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Building a startup is brutal. Founders chasing money burn out. The ones who win have a 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 that fuels them through the pain. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆? Don’t just look for a great idea—look for a founder with these traits. Because in the end, great founders make great companies. I hope you've found this helpful. Follow Vishu Bheda for more such valuable startup insights from the world's best founders!
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