- emotionally involved - visionary or pioneering - optimistic - gritty or determined - domain experienced - competitive - strong negotiators - strong communicators - self-starting (priority setters) - intuitive, and - self-assured (perceived experts)

I'm sure others will disagree with this list inone way or another, but I have mentored, counseled and invested in startups for 15 years; I have dozens of friends who started companies; and I founded a successful company myself. Most if not all of these characteristics are present in the founders I know who have been successful.

If you want to start a business, and you are not a person well described by these characteristics--then my advice is to get more work experience and find opportunities (in or out of work) to develop these characteristics in yourself.

When the time comes for you to talk with investors--let alone the need for these skills to found your startup--these are the qualifications and qualities in you that they will be looking for.