Founder
Founder Capabilities
Deep Vertical Knowledge
- Genuine expertise in a specific industry or vertical
- Real experience of having "lived and breathed" the space
Storytelling Ability
- Capacity to craft and push compelling narratives
- Skill to build and spread memes
- Ability to rally others around a vision
Leadership Excellence
- Capability to hire and manage high-performing teams
- People management remains crucial despite increased technological leverage
Implications
The purely tech focused startup landscape is becoming more challenging because:
- The barrier to entry through pure technical skills has diminished
- Entrepreneurs with genuine expertise typically have higher opportunity costs
- Fewer people may be willing to leave established corporate careers due to the expertise requirements
- Traditional "cookie cutter" approach of matching young coders with customer discovery no longer suffices
This represents a return to pre-tech business principles, where deep industry knowledge and well-rounded leadership matter more than pure technical skills if a project is to last the test of time.