There is a lot of talk about creating “category-defining companies” in the modern business world. Brady Bohrmann of Avalon Ventures defines four common characteristics in the founders of truly category-defining companies, passion sitting at the top of the list.

1. 4 Traits of a Category
Defining Company
by Brady Bohrmann,
Partner at Avalon Ventures

2. About Brady Bohrmann
Brady has over 20 years of experience as a venture capitalist and
operating executive in both information technology and biotech. His
focus is on early-stage investments and backing talented entrepreneurs.
Throughout his venture capital career, he has worked with over 75
companies. He currently is a director or observer of many Avalon
portfolio companies, including Backupify, Chart.io, Cloudant, Inc., Conjur,
Indix, Juliet Marine Systems, Kaltura, Kinvey, Memrise, Nanigans, Pingup,
Redbooth, Selectable Media, Simulmedia, The Happy Cloud, Twinstrata
and Vook.

3. There is a lot of talk about
category-defining companies…
If you’ve ever heard a new company described as,
“we’re the Uber of…” then you know this to be true.

4. Valuations and Innovation
Immensely creative new technologies are being
rewarded with historically high valuations.
• What does this mean for entrepreneurs?
• Should that change how you approach founding
your company?
It shouldn’t.

5. What it takes to start and build
a game-changing company:

6. 1. Founders have passion
Category-defining companies are typically built by
entrepreneurs with a deep-rooted passion behind it.
They are at a point in their life and career where
building a company is a noble endeavor and a
natural part of their life’s arc.

7. An example
Take Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter, for example.
Dorsey can trace the origin of the idea for Twitter
back to his childhood hobby of listening to police
radio scanners.

8. 1. Founders have passion
Compare Dorsey’s story to a few
people sitting around a whiteboard
attempting to find a new idea from
a handful of pre-existing ideas.

9. 1. Founders have passion
Unlike entrepreneurs who simply try to replicate and
alter existing business models, founders with a deep
connection to an idea know exactly what they need
to sustain themselves when times get tough.

10. 1. Founders have passion
If an entrepreneur lacks passion, what will
nourish them to continue on, especially when
it’s not obvious that they should?

11. 2. They don’t set out to build
category-defining companies
Building a true category-defining company is a product
of a few enduring qualities:
• Passion
• Creativity
• Boldness to do something different

12. 2. They don’t set out to build
category-defining companies
Many of the great companies we think of as “life-
changing” (Twitter, Facebook, Apple) were not
born great.
They started as ordinary companies but became
great over time.

13. 2. They don’t set out to build
category-defining companies
A majority of companies that become category-defining
are often ridiculed or misunderstood by others when
they are first created.

14. 2. They don’t set out to build
category-defining companies
The goal of building a category-defining company is
not always a sustainable vision.
If you become too concerned with fashionability,
monetary gains, or social capital, you can quickly lose
focus, thus weakening your company.

15. 3. Founders move forward
relentlessly
The best entrepreneurs
never give up easily.

16. 3. Founders move forward
relentlessly
They’re the people who wake up faced
with nine reasons why they could fail
and just one reason to succeed.
It’s the entrepreneurs who can
relentlessly focus on the one reason to
press on who win.

17. 3. Founders move forward
relentlessly
A key characteristic of a forward-moving founder is
self-awareness.
They know what they are and aren’t good at and
believe that what they are building is bigger than
themselves.

18. 3. Founders move forward
relentlessly
With that perspective in mind, they seek to improve
their company with every new hire.
So long as you are not threatened by the prospect of
hiring someone who may be smarter than you, you
will be able to hire A-level people.

19. 3. Founders move forward
relentlessly
The other route is taking the path to mediocrity,
which certainly does not create category-
defining companies.

20. 4. Founders are not stuck on
perfection
Many people speak about the importance
of building the perfect founding team.
While important, there is no such thing
as a perfect team.

21. 4. Founders are not stuck on
perfection
What defines the right team for you may even
change over time — it has to.
Each company develops its own personality and
culture from the start, and it’s rarely a perfect
balance, especially as the company grows.

22. An example
At Avalon, we see the company creation process as
part of our role to help put the team elements in
balance as the company grows.

23. The Takeaway
• Now is the best time to start a
company.
• If your business idea is traceable to
a deep story arc, you will have the
motivation and ingredients to build
a defining company.
• If you do not have the passion or
story, it may not be the right
decision to start that company now.

24. Learn more!
Visit http://avalon-ventures.com/blog for more actionable advice
on early stage startups, VC funding and other entrepreneurial tips.