Based on decades of empirical research and data,
Founders, Keepers
gives founders a practical roadmap for navigating the inevitable challenges that come with startup growth.
Every founder is a time bomb waiting to explode. Why? Because the same personal attributes a founder needs to launch a startup
will invariably blow it up
. Successful founders learn how to defuse their worst impulses and build durable companies. But most don’t.
For founders, investors, and academics alike,
is the distillation of a lengthy collaboration between Rich Hagberg, Silicon Valley’s “CEO Whisperer,” and his client Tien Tzuo, founder and CEO of Zuora. Steeped in nearly 40 years of research in leadership psychology, it delivers a Swiss Army knife of mental models and practical tools that will give founders a much better chance of making it to the next level of success.
This sharp, lively guide gives readers insights into:
The three pillars of leadership every founder needs to be successful
How certain personality traits can lead to fatally flawed decisions
Common blind spots, including the default tendencies and leadership styles that often undermine success
The key factors that differentiate successful and unsuccessful founders
Why founders often frustrate their investors, partners, and employees—and what to do instead
It’s a difficult but unavoidable truth: in order to grow a startup, you have to grow as a person. Founders may be unable to account for all the complexities entailed in scaling a company, but they
can
learn how to account for themselves.
offers the way forward.