Sunday Service: The Founder Whisperer & Traits of Greatness
The Rewards and Costs of Life-long Obsessions.
What are the hallmarks of a handcrafted, artisan, one-of-a-kind product? A few examples come to mind, and among them is David Senra’s work with the Founders Podcast.
David is obsessed – a quality you’ll find in any great endeavour or product.
First, he’s obsessed with studying history’s most impactful entrepreneurs. He reads and rereads biographies about founders every week and has devoured hundreds of books to this end.
Second, David is obsessed with podcasts. He records a weekly conversational but deeply thorough podcast that details enduring lessons from some of the best-documented entrepreneurial journeys.
David is so obsessed with learning from the greats that his relentless pursuit has compelled startup founders to seek his counsel—so much so that he’s become a founder whisperer of sorts.
This week, I tuned into an episode from Invest Like the Best, where David was a guest. It was refreshing to learn as much about him as we usually do with the iconic entrepreneurs he covers on his podcast.
What were the key lessons for venture capitalists? Here’s what David has gleaned about great founders and what investors should look for.
Great People are Great Obsessives.
David argues that great founders and iconic creators are obsessed with their craft. “I can’t think of anybody that’s not completely obsessed with what they’re doing,” he says. David is a devout example of this himself. “Work is my hobby, and that’s the advantage I have over other people,” he adds.
Whether it’s the founder of Ferrari working 12-16 hours every day, James Dyson iterating through 5,000+ designs of a vacuum cleaner, or Estée Lauder obsessing about what cosmetics can do for beauty, great founders have one thing in common: They’re extremes, not moderates.
The Roots of Obsession Are Mixed.
Where do these obsessions come from? The sources vary. It could be a deep well of curiosity, a chip on the shoulder, childhood adversity, or an irresistible calling that comes knocking later in life. But no matter the origins, you can’t easily manufacture a crazed interest in a pursuit.
David shares the story of an 18-year-old Enzo Ferrari, whose father died unexpectedly. This episode (and other challenging events) accelerated his maturity and drive to support his family.
David also shares the story of Estée Lauder. She waited until her late 30s to start a company because she was a stay-at-home mom. However, her curiosity about cosmetics endured from the time her uncle introduced her to the chemistry of face creams in her early childhood.
Obsession Drives Effort & Smarts.
Anyone who achieves mastery in anything has to be obsessed. But more specifically, an obsessed founder works harder and with more smarts.
In the podcast interview, David quotes the founder of Four Seasons: “Excellence is the capacity to take pain.” In David’s view, this is the “best maxim in the history of entrepreneurship”. He later adds, “If your goal is to make it easier and simple, don’t get in the fucking boat.”
But excellence doesn’t just come from brute force effort. David talks about Michael Jordan — perhaps the best athlete of all time — who “had a giant ego and a giant drive”. Yet, even with all his talent, Michael was always eager to learn from others if it helped improve his game.
High performers are ferocious learners and will take whatever they can from history, peers, or other domains to improve their work.
Obsessions Come with Costs.
“If you don’t have guard rails, it’s dangerous,” David admits. He recalls the autobiography of the American businessman Larry H. Miller, who built a multi-billion dollar car dealership business. He pursued success at a significant cost to his family and health. In the autobiography, Miller writes:
“I try to pass these painful lessons to others who might be tempted by all the allure of professional success. Mine is a cautionary tale. I missed all those years with my family, and I can’t have them back. In some ways, it’s so simple. All you’ve got to do is be there.”
He wasn’t there for his family, and he regretted it deeply. He wasn’t there for his health either.
“I didn’t take any time off. I worked all the time. I worked six days a week, and on Sunday, I played softball…Looking back now, I realise that when I quit playing softball, I didn’t replace it with anything except more work. And that is the biggest reason I got myself into health problems. I did not exercise, and it put me on a gradual downhill slide for 23 years.”
Obsessive pursuits are not risk-free. The prospects of irreversible damage to personal well-being are far from negligible, and there’s no guarantee of success either. No matter the case, you can’t find an iconic founder without a trail of obsession in their wake.