Are you founder material?
Find out in five minutes which founder traits you bring, whether founding or joining suits you better, and which co-founder balances you.
- About 5 minutes
- No sign-up
- Stays in your browser
The founder test
Step 1 of 5
How well does this describe you?
I set myself goals that others find too ambitious.
I prefer to do things my own way, even if it takes more effort than following instructions.
I can start without knowing how it ends.
When something goes wrong, I first ask what I can change.
I often notice problems that nobody solves yet.
A no makes me look for another way, not give up.
What makes founder material?
Research on founders keeps finding the same traits, though none of them decides alone. The test measures six of them, following the General Enterprising Tendency test of Durham University and the review of founder personality research by Kerr, Kerr and Xu.
Drive
The need to reach ambitious goals and to do things well. It is one of the traits most clearly linked to starting a company and to its success.
Independence
The wish to decide yourself how the work is done, and to carry the consequences.
Risk and uncertainty
Acting without knowing how it ends, while weighing what is at stake. Founders are not gamblers; they take risks they can see.
Ownership
The belief that your actions shape the outcome. Researchers call it an internal locus of control and self-efficacy.
Ideas and opportunities
Noticing problems nobody solves yet and connecting ideas from different fields.
Staying power
Keeping going after a no and staying calm when several things go wrong at once.
How the test scores
Each trait has four statements, one of them worded the other way round. Its score is the mean of the four answers on a scale from 0 to 100; above 70 counts as high, from 40 as middle.
The type comes from the mean of all six traits and your answers on idea and time: from 65 founder material, with an idea of your own or ready to join; from 45 join rather than found alone; below that, or without time right now, not yet. The test shows the type and the profile, not a single score.
Questions about the founder test
Can you learn to be a founder?
Partly. Traits like staying power and ownership grow with experience, and skills like selling can be learned. The test shows where you stand today, not where you must stay.
Should I found a start-up or join one?
It depends less on talent than on two things: whether you have an idea you want to commit to, and how much risk and time you can take on right now. With an idea of your own, you start from zero. As a co-founder, you join a start-up whose idea already exists, as an equal partner. The test weighs both and suggests a direction.
Is this a psychological test?
No. It is a self-assessment based on traits that research links to founding. It is not validated as a diagnosis and should not be used to select people.
What if my result is "not yet"?
Then founding right now would likely cost you more than it gives you. Many people join a start-up first, learn how it works, and found later. Take the test again when your situation changes.
Do I need a co-founder?
Not always, but investors still back teams far more often than solo founders, and the test shows which co-founder would balance you. Our guide on whether you need a co-founder looks at the data.
Are my answers stored?
No. The test runs in your browser and your answers are never sent to Cofoundista. This browser tab keeps them, so a reload does not lose them, and forgets them when you close it. We only count how often the test is started and finished, and which type comes out.
Ready for the next step?
Publish a co-founder search, or join a start-up as a co-founder.