FLAME with Brad Hook
Why Some Startups Thrive and Others Fail
David Ding has seen the startup journey from every seat — founder, fractional CEO, board advisor, and builder of a fund-of-funds to bring capital into New Zealand. Here's what separates the companies that make it.
Through Morpheus, his innovation consultancy, David works hands-on with companies navigating growth, transformation and fundraising — which gives him an unusually honest dataset on why startups fail. Spoiler: it's rarely the idea. It's founders, timing, capital discipline and the unglamorous mechanics of execution.
We dig into what boards actually need from founders, how New Zealand's capital landscape shapes what's buildable here, and the personal side — the founder psychology that quietly determines everything else. Direct, experienced and useful whether you're pre-idea or mid-scale.
In this episode
- Why startups actually fail — rarely the idea
- Capital discipline and the mechanics of execution
- What boards need from founders
- New Zealand's capital landscape and PowerHouse
- Founder psychology as the hidden variable
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