Here's my list of the traits had by the most effective founders: - strong will to make the vision a reality - humility to update the vision when appropriate

Here's my list of the traits had by the most effective founders: - strong will to make the vision a reality - humility to update the vision when appropriate - natural ability to motivate people to work toward the vision - the ability to focus and to keep the team focused - the ability to explore and to keep the team exploring - the ability to present and fundraise effectively - luck All but the last item are not very scarce characteristics (roughly 1 in 200 people has them all in sufficient quantity to succeed as a founder). The last one is where it gets difficult, and at every iteration the impact of luck gets amplified, to the point where it is actually the signal that everyone is looking for to "pile on" to an early stage endeavor.