Coachability Is Overrated
Great founders listen to lots of advice and follow little of it
Naval: There’s a meme among venture capitalists—especially inexperienced ones—that a good founder should be coachable. These investors rely too much on their own abilities, thinking they’re right and founders are wrong.
Inexperienced investors also rely too much on the idea that you can change people in the short-term. Experienced investors know this isn’t the case.
In fact, great founders aren’t that coachable. They listen to lots of advice, but they follow very little of it. They develop their own internal compass. So I believe that coachability is an overrated metric.