The One Trait That Separates Exceptional Startups: Intensity
A Few Thoughts on Intensity
Tyler Hogge argues that the defining trait of exceptional startups isn't intelligence, charisma, or positivity—it's intensity. Drawing on his experience at three breakout companies and observations of founders like Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, Brian Chesky, and Sam Altman, he frames intensity as a force multiplier layered across every other quality. His practical summary, borrowed from Frank Slootman: raise the quality bar, increase the speed, and narrow the focus—all to an extreme degree.
Most startups care about quality, but not intensely. They want to increase speed, but not intensely. They think focus is important, but they don't focus intensely. Most people want to live, but not intensely.
- achandra03
If you're a founder with a significant equity stake in your company then by all means, go balls to the wall. It's pretty dumb to expect employees with a significantly more capped upside to do the same.
- solatic
I sympathize with the author, but instead of intensity, I would describe it as externally-observable emotional engagement (though that is a mouthful by comparison). Success follows founders who care deeply about their mission, customers, product, and people, and who succeed in getting other people to care deeply as well.
It is such a stark contrast from corporate culture, where you survive and get promoted by learning to disengage from the mission, customers, and product, and focus on being quietly, not intensely, useful for your boss.
- jvanderbot
I've worked remote for the last 6 years, at startups or otherwise.
This is somewhat written for a CEO: "you must bring intensity and instill it on your blank-slate employees". In one case there's the assumption that onsite startups work better, and that assumed-to-be-true mystery is explained as being from on-site being higher intensity.
I somewhat caution against that mindset. I find myself frequently more intense about driving feature timelines and rollouts than my colleagues, even when I'm remote. It's part of the nature of me not my office chair.
- shahbaby
Seems like a lot of survivorship bias here.
I think intensity is a symptom of circumstance not a cause for them.
If you're a startup that's on the verge of transitioning from broke to huge success, I'd imagine everyone would be bringing a lot of intensity to push it over that line.
If you're an established company with a track record of responding to record profits with layoffs, then I don't think it's fair for you to expect your employees to share your enthusiasm.
- joshmarinacci
Startup success comes from making a product that customers will pay for. Full stop. Intensity can be a way to find that, but no amount of intensity will change the fact that most startups make products that no one wants to pay for.