What we actually look for in founders

First: they explain their business in language a smart eight-year-old can follow. Complexity is fine; obfuscation is a tell.

Second: they have a real point of view about their customer. Not a persona. An actual human they could call right now and have answer the phone.

Third: they ship in spite of you. The check is helpful, the introduction is helpful, the advice is occasionally helpful — but the founder you keep backing is the one who would have shipped without you.