A Case for the Founder who Gets It

Someone who can connect to the early adopter.

Early adopters are people who have the ability to decide if something is good without having to rely on validation from the crowd. Corollary traits include intelligence, vision, taste, and the ability to discern signal from noise. These people get it.

From a product, they appreciate innovations that make things better. They look for cues of quality, such as thoughtful design.

From a brand, they appreciate authenticity. They will filter out a sugar coated sales pitch as noise. They want to be communicated with in a clear, conversational voice of mutual respect.

Most successful founders are early adopters. Because of that, building a thoughtfully designed product with an authentic brand comes naturally. They’re a gets-it founder.

If you’re starting a company and you have a low degree of gets-it, the only other option is to be self-aware enough to find a co-founder that has a lot of it. You need a gets-it founder. It’s just as important as a technical one. Even better when they’re both.