Super Founders
By Hans J. Apostel



Not everyone has the privilege to be rooted in Silicon Valley or cross paths with a future billionaire at the Stanford University campos. Ali Tamaseb has put together in "SuperFounders"the results of a truly unique data based analysis of significant differences between Unicorns and less fortunate start-ups. He compared over 30.000 data points of billion-dollar start-ups with a statistically relevant control group. Some conclusions confirm my experience as long-time investor, some are counterintuitive:

When considering an investment in a start-up, be seed or growth, look less at the beautifully designed power point deck or contemporary buzzwords, look at the founders backgrounds. As compared with the control group, unicorn founders have always been independent, may have created projects, social or business initiatives, have passed through the experience of at least one company foundation, successful or not or, as the case may be, can show significant achievements in a first-tier company.

Age is not relevant, very few have industry experience, less than 15% went through any kind of accelerator or incubator program, typically designed for newcomers. Being first is not decisive, more often than not billionaire founders made radical changes of their business model. Board members and angel investors with strong background as founders and first-tier VCs make a difference. And they want to make sure that a great team meets a great market. Be prepared, they will want to know from you “Why do you matter”? Lucky those who can answer this question with conviction!