The hidden trait 99% of investors miss when spotting founders

Read time: 4 min

---

Ever wondered what the circular economy really means, beyond the buzzword?

My friend Vojtech Vosecky lives and breathes it. He’s the guy companies and cities call when they’re serious about transforming supply chains and unlocking new value streams.

Now he’s opening up his playbook in a 7-week course.

Become a Circular Economist in 7 Weeks: a community-powered course designed to give you the tools, frameworks, and network to actually apply circular strategies.

Only 200 seats. Doors open October 2, 2025. If you’ve been meaning to level up, this is the room you want to be in.

👉 Join his next cohort here

---

Now let’s get real.

Most pitch decks look the same.
Most founders sound the same.

And yet, 1 out of 100 ends up building something legendary.

How do you tell the difference?

I’ll tell you the truth:

You don’t need polished decks, YC badges, or clever buzzwords.
You need to find obsessives.

---

Obsession is the #1 predictor of success

If you look closely at every outlier company, you’ll see the same trait in the founders: borderline obsession.

• They can’t shut up about the problem they’re solving.

• They hate small talk.

• They nerd out on every single detail.

• They pick a fight so big it’ll take them 10–15 years to solve it, and they’re excited about the grind.

It’s not rational. It’s obsession.

Think about it:
Would you want to spend a decade chasing something that feels “kinda interesting”?
Of course not. You’d burn out.

But if it’s an obsession? You’ll never run out of fuel.

---

What obsession looks like (the weird test)

Here’s how I’ve learned to spot it:

• Dinner test → After 5 minutes, they’ve turned the conversation back to their startup.

• Spouse test → Ask their partner what they talk about at home. If the answer is “always the company”… that’s obsession.

• Lonely nerd test → They’d still be working on the same problem if nobody gave them money.

I’ve seen founders spend years collecting obscure data sets just for fun, before raising a single dollar.
I’ve seen others build prototypes in their garage because they couldn’t sleep until they solved it.

That’s obsession.

Want to connect that concept to other worlds like Sports, Hollywood…? Watch this

---

My personal obsession

I’ll be honest.
I’ve only been truly obsessed once in my life: climate.

For years, it kept me awake at night.
I was borderline depressed because I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Eventually I learned to have a healthier relationship with it.
But it’s still there, every single day.

I think about climate more than money, weekends, or habits.
It’s the lens through which I see everything.

And it’s the same with great founders: their obsession doesn’t go away.

---

The takeaway for investors

Forget coachability. Forget charisma. Forget the “perfect” pitch.

The founders who create outlier results are obsessives.
They’re weird.
They’re relentless.
They don’t give up after 2 years.

And that’s exactly why they win.

---

Want more founder & investor playbooks?

If you want to go deeper, I built tools and resources to help you:

👀 What VCs really look for in climate startups
🎯 The 4 Signs of Founder-Market Fit
✍️ SAFE Note Dilution: how to calculate & protect your equity (+ Cap Table Template)
➗ How to value your startup: 9 best methods for 2025
📈 Here’s the Ugly Truth about scaling startups
🤯 8 hard truths for first-time Climate VCs
🔥 burnout isn’t the price of impact

👉 Join Climate Insiders Pro here