'Founders don’t matter, but your product does': Startup Grind Ramallah hosts Dave McClure

It was clear at Startup Grind Ramallah on Thursday that teams matter less in comparison with the actual product or service they’re selling.

“Show me a product a customer wants and I’ll be more inclined to make an investment in your company,” Dave McClure said to his audience.

McClure, a founding partner of 500 Startups and known for his robust critique of startup pitches, came to Ramallah to speak at Startup Grind. It was evident his statement shocked some members of the audience.

“Put aside your preconceptions of what a good founder is going to look like, or sound like, talk like, etcetera, because at the end of the day, there is no set criteria for a perfect entrepreneur, its better to look at the product than the team,” he continued.

Rather than the skills that one might assume an entrepreneur should possess, McClure emphasized that customers are the driving force behind any entrepreneur’s success.

“There’s a fine line between genius and crazy; the same traits that make entrepreneurs great are the same traits that make them fail.”

McClure has a track record of investing in successful startups. When talking about his life and career, he said he started off as a programmer, then entrepreneur, then angel investor and then horrible investor – he remarked in a joking manner.

Original article by Christina Ganim

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‘Founders don’t matter, but your product does’: Startup Grind Ramallah hosts Dave McClure