The desire to understand what makes founders tick is longstanding and has recently resurfaced in the wake of investor Paul Graham’s widely read essay on “founder mode.” To answer this question, researchers at ghSMART recently analyzed more than 1,400 data points from deep assessments of 50 successful founder CEOs and 58 non-founder CEOs in private equity–backed companies. They also conducted qualitative interviews with dozens of founders, investors, CEO successors, and portfolio talent leaders. Their research revealed that while no founder CEO is the same, they do exhibit distinctive characteristics as a collective. Founder CEOs are “spikier” than their professional counterparts: Their strengths are more pronounced, but so are their weaknesses.
