Having raised over $100 million in capital for my startups, other startups, and startup funds, I've distilled the most common traits of successful founders. I know other research has also reached this conclusion.

TLDR: It's a growth mindset (aka being "relentlessly resourceful).

An open mindset for a startup founder is the relentless pursuit of growth and resourcefulness, embracing challenges and uncertainty as opportunities to innovate and adapt. When they hit a wall, they figure it out with what they got. And there are a LOT of walls you'll hit as a founder.

The opposite is a fixed mindset for a startup founder that leads to resistance to change and a fear of failure that stifles innovation and adaptability. These founders don't take feedback and play the blame game (Example: Blaming everybody else that investors pass on their deal.)

What's tricky is that 95% of founders, including me, fall into a fixed mindset at one point or another and don't even know it. We ALL have blind spots, so we need people around us to give us feedback. The good news is that it's easy to start developing an open mindset if you're willing and open.

Let me know what you think! Would love to hear your thoughts below.

Here's a video I made on this topic about the 8 traits that make a unicorn founder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl9cCuBWAmI