No products in the cart.
Founder Interview – Stella S.
February 9, 2026
Seed Five
The 3 Keys to Founder Success
Kenneth Ogalo
The founder and president of Seed Five. Ken has worked in various roles across economics, private equity, and fund finance. His work explores how ideas, capital, and creativity move the world forward and fuel the modern pursuit of excellence.
Starting a business isn’t easy. Beyond the late nights and early mornings, the failures and mistakes, and the massive financial burden, there’s always a fire to put out. As the founder, you’re the one who has to decide which blaze gets the extinguisher first. Your efforts and struggles will go unnoticed until one of two things happens: you fail, and everyone says I told you so; or you succeed, and they all claim we knew you could do it.
After graduating from West Virginia, I moved to New York City just two days after walking across the stage in my cap and gown. Here I was in the Big Apple, ready to make my mark. Roughly a year later, I found myself in a position where my 9–5 didn’t provide the fulfillment I was looking for, so I went and found it myself. I started my first venture, The Roaring Economist (now known as Seed Five, you’re literally on our website right now), and came up with a plan to accomplish all my goals by the time I turned 30. Now here I am at 26, not where I expected, but not too far off either. Life happens.
For the last three years, I’ve worked, I’ve exercised, I’ve studied. I’ve worked, I’ve exercised, I’ve studied. Again and again and again. It’s been a cycle of being knocked down and fighting my way back up. Being a founder is one of the hardest things a person can do, and it’s clear why 9 out of 10 startups fail. Most people start a company for one of two reasons: to make a change or to make money. For firms creating entirely new markets, it’s usually a combination of both.
I’m lucky that Seed Five brings together founders and creatives from diverse sectors and backgrounds into a truly unique community. With such a high concentration of human capital, we benefit from a deep pool of knowledge, which we can use to reach across industries to identify trends and insights unavailable to most other organizations.
Once our community reached a point of critical mass, I noticed certain founders and creatives scaling and gaining recognition much faster than typical. That led me on a search: what separates the best from the rest? After countless interviews, visits, and conversations with early-stage founders, artists, podcast hosts, and leaders across Manhattan, I noticed striking similarities in the mindsets and measurable habits of those breaking through versus those who felt stuck.
I compiled these findings into a report for our core members, the key indicators every great leader should focus on to build a successful enterprise or turn passion into reality. But as much as I believe in those indicators, they alone don’t define a great founder. A great business can be run by a poor leader. The qualities of a great founder boil down to three non-negotiables for excellence: Perseverance, Sacrifice, and Obsession.
PERSERVERANCE
Perseverance isn’t about pushing through a bad day or week, it’s about enduring a bad month, a rough year, or even several years. People underestimate how long it really takes to build something great. Most successful companies and creatives existed long before they became household names, but we only see them at their peak, not during their climb. Peloton, for example, was founded in 2012 but only broke into mainstream recognition years later during the pandemic – an event no one could have predicted. There’s no such thing as overnight success, only small, intentional steps toward a goal. Failures will outnumber successes, but one good day can undo years of setbacks.
PELETON INTERACTIVE REVENUE TREND
SACRIFICE
Sacrifice is guaranteed for anyone trying to set the standard, but it doesn’t look the same for everyone. Missing a night out with friends, losing a few hours of sleep, or spending a little more than planned on your venture is one thing. But are you willing to give up drinking entirely? To stay awake for 26 hours straight to meet a deadline? To spend your own money just to make sure your employees get paid? The sacrifices you don’t make often define you more than the ones you do. Being a great founder means accepting that there’s no negotiating what has to get done.
OBSESSION
Obsession is the most critical component of all. You have to live, eat, sleep, and breathe what you preach. No one will ever care more about your craft than you, and if they do, you have a problem. You can’t casually approach a goal and expect to achieve it at a high level. Obsession may look strange from the outside, but it’s infectious. The more passionate, driven, and determined you are, the better your chances. Time and time again, we hear stories of artists like Lady Gaga, founders like Steven Bartlett, or athletes like Ronnie Coleman, people who pursued their goals with absolute conviction. Does that mean there’s no room for anything else? Of course not. But space is limited. Being a great founder means leading by example, and the best leaders are the ones with laser-sharp focus and an unshakable vision of success.
Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Everyone has a goal they want to accomplish or a dream they’re chasing, even if not all of us are ready to admit it. Nowadays, resilience is harder than ever. The second you check your phone, it feels like everyone else is ahead: another startup on LinkedIn looks like it’s thriving, your friend is announcing his next art exhibit (with sponsors who never even replied to your emails), and influencers are busy shoving their wealth down your throat. But comparison is the thief of joy and armed with the right keys, you can unlock everything comparison says you can’t have.
Enter the Lounge
Subscribe to the newsletter everyone in Manhattan is talking about. No filler. No fluff. Just what matters, when it matters.
