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Big Five Trait

Extraversion in Entrepreneurs

The distribution advantage

Extraversion predicts entrepreneurial intention and short-term fundraising success but has a smaller effect on actual venture survival than conscientiousness (Zhao, Seibert & Lumpkin, Journal of Management, 2010, meta-analysis).

What is extraversion?

Extraversion captures sociability, assertiveness, positive emotion, and energy drawn from social interaction. Extraverted founders excel at fundraising, recruiting, and sales but extraversion is less predictive of long-run startup success than conscientiousness.

16 famous founders ranked by extraversion

Scores on a 0-100 scale. Higher score = more extraversion.

RankFounderMBTICategoryScore
#1Oprah WinfreyOWN / HarpoENFJConnector95
#2Marc BenioffSalesforceENFJConnector88
#3Howard SchultzStarbucksENFJConnector88
#4Reid HoffmanLinkedInENFPConnector85
#5Walt DisneyThe Walt Disney CompanyENFPVisionary82
#6Travis KalanickUberESTPOperator82
#7Brian CheskyAirbnbENFPBuilder80
#8Whitney Wolfe HerdBumbleENFPConnector80
#9Sara BlakelySpanxESFJOperator75
#10Marc AndreessenAndreessen Horowitz / NetscapeENTJContrarian72
#11Steve JobsAppleENTJVisionary70
#12Melanie PerkinsCanvaENFJBuilder70
#13Sam AltmanOpenAIENTJVisionary68
#14Queen Elizabeth IEnglandENTJVisionary65
#15Jeff BezosAmazonESTJOperator60
#16Katrina LakeStitch FixISTJOperator60
#17Elon MuskTesla / SpaceXINTJVisionary55
#18Jensen HuangNVIDIAISTJBuilder55
#19Mark ZuckerbergMetaINTJBuilder55
#20Patrick CollisonStripeINTJBuilder50
#21Sergey BrinGoogle / AlphabetINTJBuilder50
#22Reed HastingsNetflixINTJBuilder48
#23Paul GrahamY CombinatorINTPContrarian45
#24Peter ThielPayPal / PalantirINTJContrarian45
#25Naval RavikantAngelListINTPContrarian45
#26Daniel EkSpotifyINTJBuilder42
#27Bill GatesMicrosoftINTJBuilder40
#28Jack DorseyTwitter / BlockINFJContrarian40
#29Yvon ChouinardPatagoniaINFPVisionary40
#30Larry PageGoogle / AlphabetINTPBuilder35

Where would you rank on extraversion?

Take the Founder Mode entrepreneur personality test to find your extraversion score on the same 0-100 scale used for the 16 founders above. Free, 10 minute survey.

Find your score

Top 5: highest extraversion

  1. #1Oprah Winfrey (ENFJ)95
  2. #2Marc Benioff (ENFJ)88
  3. #3Howard Schultz (ENFJ)88
  4. #4Reid Hoffman (ENFP)85
  5. #5Walt Disney (ENFP)82

Bottom 5: lowest extraversion

  1. #30Larry Page (INTP)35
  2. #29Yvon Chouinard (INFP)40
  3. #28Jack Dorsey (INFJ)40
  4. #27Bill Gates (INTJ)40
  5. #26Daniel Ek (INTJ)42

Frequently asked questions

What is extraversion in the Big Five model?

Extraversion captures sociability, assertiveness, positive emotion, and energy drawn from social interaction. Extraverted founders excel at fundraising, recruiting, and sales but extraversion is less predictive of long-run startup success than conscientiousness.

Do high-extraversion founders perform better?

Extraversion predicts entrepreneurial intention and short-term fundraising success but has a smaller effect on actual venture survival than conscientiousness (Zhao, Seibert & Lumpkin, Journal of Management, 2010, meta-analysis).

Which famous founder scores highest on extraversion?

Based on our Big Five estimates, Oprah Winfrey (OWN / Harpo, MBTI ENFJ) is the highest-scoring founder on extraversion in our 16-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

Agreeableness

Lower is often better

Neuroticism

The resilience factor

Where do you score on extraversion?

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

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