Founders, Keepers: Why Founders Are Built to Fail, and What it Takes to Succeed

by Richard Hagberg PhD, Tien Tzuo, Gabe Weisert (primary_contributor)

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.

It’s a brutal paradox—the same founder attributes required to put a startup in motion will invariably blow it up. The difference between success and failure lies in the personal journey that every founder must pursue to avoid their own worst impulses.

Steeped in nearly forty years of research in leadership psychology, Founders, Keepers begins with the same personality assessment Rich Hagberg, a psychologist and executive management coach, gives his clients. Hagberg and Tien Tzuo, founder and CEO of Zuora, help founders build a Swiss Army knife of practical tools that will give them a much better chance of making it to the next level of success.

A guide for founders, investors, and academics alike, the result of a decade-long collaboration between a successful CEO and Silicon Valley’s “CEO Whisperer” offers readers insights
The differentiators between successful and unsuccessful founders The three pillars of leadership that every founder needs to be successful The essential skills founders need to master to be successful over the long haul An examination of the common personality traits that lead founders to make fatally flawed decisions What makes founders tick, including the default tendencies and leadership styles that often undermine their success How founders frustrate their investors, partners and employees
Founders may not be able to account for all the complexities of their companies, but they can account for themselves. It’s a difficult but unavoidable to grow your startup, you have to grow as a person. And that’s where Founders, Keepers comes in.

240 pages, Hardcover

Published June 17, 2025

Reviews

[Arathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

a quick read on why founders usually end up struggling because they focus on one skill (ideas) while ignoring other skills required to succeed (relationships and execution + subskills within these). once it's put into words, it seems so obvious and yet, decades of research show that people make the same mistake every time.
this book is super accessible. i do wish there was a little more detail on the stats. right now, they just mention terminology ("regression") and not explain details of what they did (which is fair for a mass market book).
thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

[Mae B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative. A solid read.