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Big Five Trait

Neuroticism in Entrepreneurs

The resilience factor

High emotional stability (low neuroticism) is associated with founder persistence past the critical 3-year survival mark and resilience under repeated rejection (Zhao, Seibert & Lumpkin, Journal of Management, 2010).

What is neuroticism?

Neuroticism captures the tendency toward negative emotion, anxiety, and stress reactivity. Its inverse, emotional stability, is one of the strongest personality predictors of founder persistence through rejection, market downturns, and the high failure base rate of startups.

30 famous founders ranked by neuroticism

Scores on a 0-100 scale. Higher score = more neurotic (lower emotional stability).

RankFounderMBTIScore
#1Elon MuskTesla / SpaceXINTP45
#2Steve JobsAppleENTJ40
#3Travis KalanickUberESTP35
#4Brian CheskyAirbnbENFJ30
#5Jack DorseyTwitter / BlockINTP30
#6Walt DisneyThe Walt Disney CompanyENFP30
#7Whitney Wolfe HerdBumbleENFP25
#8Mark ZuckerbergMetaINTJ25
#9Sam AltmanOpenAIENTJ22
#10Larry PageGoogle / AlphabetINTP22
#11Oprah WinfreyOWN / HarpoENFJ20
#12Reid HoffmanLinkedInENFP20
#13Paul GrahamY CombinatorINTP20
#14Bill GatesMicrosoftINTJ20
#15Marc BenioffSalesforceENFJ20
#16Howard SchultzStarbucksENFJ20
#17Marc AndreessenAndreessen Horowitz / NetscapeENTJ20
#18Yvon ChouinardPatagoniaINFP20
#19Katrina LakeStitch FixESTJ18
#20Daniel EkSpotifyINTJ18
#21Sergey BrinGoogle / AlphabetINTP18
#22Sara BlakelySpanxESFJ15
#23Jeff BezosAmazonESTJ15
#24Patrick CollisonStripeINTJ15
#25Peter ThielPayPal / PalantirINTP15
#26Reed HastingsNetflixINTJ15
#27Melanie PerkinsCanvaENFJ12
#28Naval RavikantAngelListINTP12
#29Jensen HuangNVIDIAISTJ10
#30Queen Elizabeth IEnglandENTJ8

Where would you rank on neuroticism?

Take the Founder Mode entrepreneur personality test to find your neuroticism score on the same 0-100 scale used for the 30 founders above. Free, 10 minute survey.

Find your score

Top 5: highest neuroticism

  1. #1Elon Musk (INTP)45
  2. #2Steve Jobs (ENTJ)40
  3. #3Travis Kalanick (ESTP)35
  4. #4Brian Chesky (ENFJ)30
  5. #5Jack Dorsey (INTP)30

Bottom 5: lowest neuroticism

  1. #30Queen Elizabeth I (ENTJ)8
  2. #29Jensen Huang (ISTJ)10
  3. #28Naval Ravikant (INTP)12
  4. #27Melanie Perkins (ENFJ)12
  5. #26Reed Hastings (INTJ)15

Frequently asked questions

What is neuroticism in the Big Five model?

Neuroticism captures the tendency toward negative emotion, anxiety, and stress reactivity. Its inverse, emotional stability, is one of the strongest personality predictors of founder persistence through rejection, market downturns, and the high failure base rate of startups.

Do low-neuroticism founders perform better?

High emotional stability (low neuroticism) is associated with founder persistence past the critical 3-year survival mark and resilience under repeated rejection (Zhao, Seibert & Lumpkin, Journal of Management, 2010).

Which famous founder scores highest on neuroticism?

Based on our Big Five estimates, Elon Musk (Tesla / SpaceX, MBTI INTP) is the highest-scoring founder on neuroticism in our 30-founder dataset.

How are these scores estimated?

Big Five scores for each founder are estimated from publicly documented behavior, interviews, biographies, and shareholder letters. They are calibrated against academic research on founder personality. They are best treated as informed estimates for educational and comparative purposes, not clinical assessments. See the methodology page for full details.

Other Big Five traits

Openness to Experience

The innovation driver

Conscientiousness

The execution engine

Extraversion

The distribution advantage

Agreeableness

Lower is often better

Neuroticism in living founders

The Founder Psychology Index scores 22 living founders on this same 0-100 scale, with every score linked to a dated public source. Examples include David Heinemeier Hansson, Michael Ovitz, Scott Wu.

Where do you score on neuroticism?

Take the free founder personality test to find your Big Five profile.

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