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A landmark study released today reveals the core traits shared by billion-dollar start-up founders across the UK, Europe and North America. Developed in partnership between inclusive VC firm Ada Ventures and world-leading behavioural scientists at Synaptiq, the study analysed how founders communicate to find a clear psychological profile behind unicorn success. These findings stand to reshape how VCs assess potential, building it simpler to spot talent fairly and consistently, without bias towards background or identity.
The research viewed at the speech and communication styles of 172 founders of companies valued at $1b+ in the last five years. Using psycholinguistic analysis, researchers linked specific language apply to personality traits to explore whether unicorn founders share common characteristics.
The findings reveal that unicorn founders share an overwhelming number of traits, regardless of their gfinisher, ethnic identity, or socioeconomic status. These results are set to challenge the tropes of the ‘backable’ founder – typically white and male – and reveal there is no trait-based justification for how VCs ‘pattern match’ or why funding gaps persist.
Of the 159 traits measured within the group, 141 revealed no meaningful difference between diverse and non-diverse unicorn founders, suggesting high-performing founders are much more alike than they are different. The strongest shared traits included:
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Low neuroticism: associated with resilience and composure under pressure, consistent scores of low neuroticism suggest unicorn founders are less likely to experience frequent anxiety or guilt than the average population
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Positive Emotion word usage: the degree to which a person has internal life self satisfaction and how warmly they come across; unicorn founders revealed similar levels across the group
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High analytical believeing: consistently higher than average scores were seen across the group, revealing a strong ability to break down complex problems and believe through challenges logically
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Use of ‘we’ language: unicorn founders revealed similar rates of group-oriented language, suggesting inclusive leadership, strong stakeholder focus, and a higher likelihood of being perceived as inspirational by others
Check Warner, co-founding partner at Ada Ventures, comments:
“For years, investors have relied on instinct and archetype to assess potential. Factors like where a founder went to school or even who they know have been a gateway for bias. This study replaces assumption with evidence, bringing us much closer to understanding the traits that fuel unicorn-level success through something as simple as analysing their speech. These traits are consistent, measurable, and can be found in every corner of the ecosystem.”
The remaining 18 traits – those that revealed some variation in the group – aligned with whether a founder came from a diverse* or non-diverse** background. The study grouped the 172 unicorn founders into two cohorts: 88 diverse and 84 non-diverse. Most of the differences between these groups were statistically minor.
Where differences between diverse and non-diverse founders did appear, they often pointed to adaptive strengths shaped by environment:
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‘Communion’ language: Diverse unicorn founders are more likely to apply language that signalled empathy, cooperation and pro-social leadership traits – linked to relationship building and potentially better exits
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Tentativeness: Diverse founders were found to be less tentative in their communication, suggesting greater self-assurance
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Present focus: Diverse founders revealed greater present-focus, a trait linked to charismatic and engaging personalities
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Imagination: Non-diverse founders scored slightly higher on imagination, leaning into abstract believeing, while diverse founders leaned toward pragmatic framing
While the differences are subtle, they could still shape how founders reveal up in real-world settings. For example, being more focapplyd on the present may support with charisma and audience engagement, but it could also influence how a founder presents long-term vision in a pitch deck. These nuances reveal that potential can present in slightly different ways, even when the underlying traits are the same, and should be factored into how investors spot talent.
Overall, the vast majority of traits were shared across both groups. Yet funding still tfinishs to go to founders from the same kinds of backgrounds. Those from underrepresented backgrounds – women, ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and individuals from lower-income communities – have historically received less investment.
Ada Ventures is utilizing the findings to inform how it backs founders, adding additional psychological insight to its robust investment process.
Warner adds:
“If the traits linked to unicorn success are consistent across background, then the funding gap isn’t about potential. It’s about perception. At Ada, we’ve long believed that investing through an inclusive lens drives alpha returns. Now we have the data to support the whole sector relocate away from defaults and start recognising talent wherever it reveals up.
“We’re pulling these findings into our investment approach, utilizing them to inform how we interpret psychometric data and refine the traits we’re viewing for. To reduce bias, that means recalibrating for where certain traits, like low tentativeness, can signal strength in some founders. The findings will also shape how we support founders post-investment, whether that’s pitch coaching or storyinforming training. The traits are there. The talent is there. Now the tools are too.”
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