How Does Natalie Fratto Decide Which Startup Founders Are Great?

Natalie Fratto says on TED Talks Daily that she met 273 startup founders in a year and had to judge which ones could build something big. Some venture capitalists, she says, bet on background: an Ivy League school, a blue-chip employer, or a large vision already shipped. Others score emotional quotient, meaning how well a founder builds teams and rapport with customers. Fratto does neither. She looks for adaptability, how someone reacts to constant change, and she treats that adaptability quotient as something that can be measured and improved. Her first test is a what-if question, such as a revenue stream drying up overnight, instead of "tell me about a time when."