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Investing in startups: are the best entrepreneurs intuitive or analytical?

No expertise = no intuition?

The role of intuition in business isn't discussed enough. I’m fond of Bergson’s definition, which is admittedly controversial! He views intuition as the reward for expertise—a vital impulse that brings reality to life, a deeply human capacity.

In fact, intuition can be seen as a combination of experience, knowledge, sensitivity, and perception. We often contrast intuitive people with analytical ones.

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Can you truly be both, or are you one or the other?

To be perfectly honest, I don’t have the answer.

We often talk about startup founders’ execution as if they were war machines, but we overlook intuition, which plays a crucial role in CEO decision-making. It allows them to seize opportunities, take calculated (or uncalculated) risks, and trust their gut in complex and uncertain situations.

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Examples of CEOs and VCs known for their creativity

Among the CEOs known for their creativity, we can cite Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, and Elon Musk. The same goes for the giants of the VC world, who often mention intuition in their decision-making process: Peter Thiel (co-founder of PayPal, founder of Founders Fund), Vinod Khosla (founder of Khosla Ventures), Reid Hoffman (co-founder of LinkedIn, partner at Greylock Partners), and Marc Andreessen (co-founder of Netscape, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz).

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Of course, intuition shouldn't be the sole basis for decisions, whether you're a CEO or a VC. A combination of intuition and analysis helps in making informed decisions.

And the greats of this world likely have a bit of both!

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And these are the kinds of analyses we already provide for our community of Business Angels as well as our VC funds. We scout the best deals for you!