Blank: Investors Must Test Repeat Founders on Relentlessness and Red-Eye Willingness
Steve Blank · Mastering modern entrepreneurship | Steve Blank (Author of The Four Steps to the Epiphany) · Dec 21, 2023 · at 35:20
Entrepreneur and Stanford professor Steve Blank discusses why many founders fail to replicate early success due to diminished energy and hunger.
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“My test, actually, I get it down to a test that investors should think about. Is you want to ask the founder from a successful company, how many red eyes were you on? That is to be able to jump on a plane for, in fact, just to be clear, you know, here we are in San Francisco. I remember calling people up in New York and saying, Hey, I'm gonna be across the street you know, having a meeting tomorrow. Are you around? Can you grab 10 minutes? And if they said yes, I would jump on a red eye and take that meeting. I mean, I was relentless. That's the test you want to ask second and third time founders. Right. Can you look me in the eye and tell me you still could do that?”
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