What separates a founder from a CEO? According to Eli Portnoy—it’s humility, discipline, and protecting your mental runway.
Eli’s no stranger to building and scaling companies—he’s successfully founded and exited two startups (Sense360 and Thinknear), and is now back at it with BackEngine.ai, building the future of applied AI.
In a recent conversation, Eli shared some standout lessons:
🔹 Hire people better than you to elevate your vision—not just execute it.
🔹 Quality beats hustle. 10–11 hours of focused work a day > burning out in the name of “grind.”
🔹 Mental health is strategy. Protecting your mind is just as important as managing your runway.
🔹 From zero to one? Speed matters—but clarity of purpose matters more.
🔹 Down markets? Stay capital efficient, stay bold, and remember that discipline is a superpower.
Eli’s leadership style is a reminder that building something great starts with knowing who you are—and being honest about what you’re not.
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