What drives some founders to keep building—no matter the
cost?
In this episode of the Founder DNA series, host Petter
Made sits down with Edward Lando, prolific angel investor and
founder, to explore the mindset behind unstoppable entrepreneurs.
Edward shares insights from over 1,000 early-stage investments
and discusses what truly sets great founders apart—from curiosity
and deep self-reflection to an almost irrational drive for
impact. The episode dives into the psychology of founders,
touching on motivation, the fine line between charisma and
charlatanism, and how top investors develop a feel for
extraordinary talent.
Additional highlights:
Why resilience often stems from early life challenges
The investor’s perspective: betting on the person, not the
idea
Red flags vs. founder superpowers—intuition vs. data
How obsessive problem-solving fuels founder momentum
Building startups in a post-no-code world: what's changing?
A candid conversation about founder intensity, emotional
patterns, and what it takes to thrive in the high-stakes startup
arena.
About Edward Lando
Edward has a background in business and entrepreneurship, having
studied at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
He made his first investments while still at university and has
since co-founded multiple companies, including Goody, Atom
Finance, Zamp, Link Money, and Palazzo. As co-founder of Pareto
Holdings, a Miami-based venture studio, he actively supports
founders in building companies from the ground up—often shaping
product, team, and strategy hands-on.
To date, Edward has invested in over 1,000 startups globally,
including more than 25 unicorns such as Ramp, Mercury, Misfits
Market, Modern Treasury, and Truebill. Known for his strong
founder intuition and bias for action, Edward is one of the most
active angel investors in the world. His approach centers on
backing extraordinary individuals early and helping them scale
with speed, focus, and resilience. LinkedIn
About Pareto Holdings
Pareto Holdings is a venture studio and investment firm
co-founded by Edward Lando and Jon Oringer (founder of
Shutterstock). Based in Miami, Pareto builds and backs
early-stage companies across diverse sectors, with a strong
emphasis on product speed, founder quality, and long-term vision.
The studio not only invests capital but also co-founds ventures,
helping shape everything from ideation and product development to
go-to-market execution. LinkedIn
About Petter Made
Petter Made is a fintech pioneer with over 25 years of
experience. He co-founded SumUp, a global company valued at
€8.5B, serving over 4 million SMBs across 36 countries. Then, as
CPTO at Drooms, he led the development of the world’s fastest
virtual data room, scaling the business to nine figures. Petter’s
earlier career saw him in leadership roles at Inatec Payment AG,
Ongame Networks, and Chinsay AB. LinkedIn
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