Relentlessly Resourceful — Paul Graham

Paul Graham distills what makes a good startup founder to two words: relentlessly resourceful.

The opposite quality is “hapless” — not merely unlucky, but passive, letting the world have its way with you instead of having your way with the world.

A running-back metaphor captures the combination of determination and flexibility, but Graham wanted something more direct and universal.

Relentlessly Resourceful (not merely relentless)

In interesting domains the difficulties are novel. You don’t know in advance whether you are about to plow through foam or granite. Pure relentlessness fails when you don’t yet know the shape of the obstacle. You must be resourceful: keep trying new things.

This is not the general recipe for success. In writing or painting the main obstacle is often internal obtuseness; the recipe there is more “be actively curious.” In startups the obstacles are mostly external.

Can It Be Taught?

After years of trying, Graham concludes it can be taught to many people (not everyone). Some are constitutionally passive; others have latent ability that needs to be brought out.

It is especially true of young people who have lived under authority. Big companies and most schools do not reward or develop this quality. The big-company recipe is longer and messier (resourcefulness + obedience + alliance-building).

Implications

Identifying the quality gives an upper bound on the number of startups: the pool of potential founders who have it. There is no economic upper bound on newly created wealth; the limit is the supply of such people.

It is a practical test:

For yourself: “Am I relentlessly resourceful?”
For cofounders: ask the same.
Tactically: “Make something people want” is the destination; “Be relentlessly resourceful” is how you get there.

See its prominent place in the generalist reading list under Dispositional traits: a-reading-list-for-generalists-dylan-bowman.

The core quality is captured in relentlessly-resourceful.

The idea is captured in the broader founder and agency concepts in the cluster.