At TechExit.io, we regularly hear from founders who’ve built, scaled, and sometimes rebuilt companies from the ground up. Each offers valuable insights and a wealth of hard-earned experience. In this conversation, seasoned entrepreneurs Bill Hunter (Canary Medical) and Geordie Rose (D-Wave, Kindred, Snowdrop and Sanctuary) do just that, sharing what leadership looks like when it matters most.
Both have led companies through growth, exits, and even personal setbacks, emphasizing the importance of vision, persistence, and knowing when to step aside and let others lead.
Key takeaways:
- Resilience and conviction are foundational leadership traits in tech startups.
- Surrounding yourself with great people (and letting them lead) is critical.
- The best founders learn on the job and stay humble about what they don’t know.
It’s not just about having a world-changing product or a compelling pitch. The most effective founders develop something deeper: the ability to endure setbacks, make tough people-based decisions, and continue inspiring others when things don’t go as planned.
Whether you’re prepping for an acquisition or have just raised a round, your mindset and leadership approach can shape your company’s trajectory and its ultimate exit.
Here’s what we learned from two founders who’ve lived the full cycle.
1. Persistence Isn’t Optional
In the words of Bill Hunter: “If you’re not kind of able to run at the wall over and over again, I think you need to find somebody who will.”
There’s no romanticizing startup life. It’s hard, long and often full of uncertainty. But both Bill and Geordie agree that persistence is often what separates those who fold from those who push through and eventually gain traction.
Geordie Rose put it plainly: “This idea of not caving when things get tough is probably the number one thing that differentiates great leaders from average ones.”
But this isn’t just startup talk, and Geordie spoke from firsthand experience, recalling how D-Wave endured years of underperformance before becoming one of the best-positioned companies in quantum computing.
In their view, resilience is more than a trait, it’s a strategy.
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2. You’re Only As Good As Your Team
Both leaders stressed that identifying, attracting, and encouraging top talent is a cornerstone of scale. But equally important is knowing when someone, even a high performer, needs to go.
Bill Hunter shared a practical framework: “Think of people across two axes—ability and attitude… The really tough one is the person who’s got a ton of ability and a bad attitude. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve said, ‘We can’t get rid of them.’ But when you do? It rarely makes a dent.”
Geordie Rose echoed that view, adding that trust is the true currency in leadership: “If somebody says they’re going to do something, they’re going to do it or they’re going to die trying… Trust is the basis of human relationships. It’s the bedrock upon which our society is built.”
In the end, building a great company means surrounding yourself with the right people and having the courage to let go of the wrong ones.
3. Learn Fast & Hire Smarter
Never underestimate the value of surrounding yourself with people who know more than you and be willing to truly listen. It’s a mindset both leaders strongly embraced.
“Don’t ask for an expert opinion if you’re not going to take it,” said Bill. That meant bringing in senior talent early and learning by proximity.
Geordie described his leadership style like this: “All of the folks who report to me are the CEO of whatever they do, and I’m more like the board.”
It’s about knowing when to lead and when to step back so others can do what they do best.
4. Boardrooms: Overshare, Be Real, Plan For The Worst
It’s tempting to treat board meetings like investor pitches. Both founders warn against that. Instead, think of the boardroom as a place for risk management, transparency, and strategy alignment.
“Over-communicate. The best way to get yourself offside with your board is to be seen as secretive or withholding,” said Bill.
And don’t just deliver the good news.
“I try and finish every board meeting by… painting a base case in graphic detail,” he added. “What are we going to do if things don’t work out? Because if you walk into the boardroom and say, ‘Oh, never saw it coming,’ that’s not going to work out well for you.”
Geordie’s take: Avoid stacking the board with allies. Instead, seek people who’ve actually run companies—those who get the stakes.
5. Founders Burn Out Too & That’s Okay
Geordie didn’t shy away from the emotional toll of founding. After parting ways with his last company, he admitted, “It started to make me wonder whether the whole thing is worth it.”
Bill echoed the sentiment: “I had to talk myself into going up that mountain again… What I really needed was my younger self talking to my older self.”
This conversation was a reminder that leadership isn’t about being the smartest person in the room. It’s about consistency, trust, and aligning others around meaningful work. The founders who lead well tend to exit well, too.
“Great scientists are attracted to great science,” said Bill. “If the project is worth doing, the right people will want in.”
Weathering the hard seasons with your team intact signals to acquirers that you’re not just building a great product—but a great company.
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