The pattern of those who change the world

Twelve traits research finds in people who built something big, the visionaries who lived them, and where they show up in Bairo's story.

The people who built the things we now use without thinking, the car, the personal computer, the message that arrives in a second, heard "no" before they heard "yes." That part almost never shows up in the success photo. But it has a shape, and research on entrepreneurs has managed to describe much of it.

This page brings together twelve traits that studies often find in people who built companies that changed people's lives. For each one, there is what the research says, with its source; a well-known visionary who lived it, with a fact that can be checked; and the moment in the life of Bairo Leandro Gonzalez Martinez where the same trait appears.

It is not a list meant to prove anything. It is a mirror. The traits raise someone's chances of building something big and guarantee nothing to anyone. Knowing that does not diminish the story: it makes clear that what counts is the choice to keep going.

1. Starting from zero

The research. On the 2024 Forbes 400 list, 67% of the richest people in the United States are classified as self-made, people who built their own fortune rather than inheriting it. Only 25 scored the top mark on the magazine's scale, reserved for those who lived below the poverty line or faced heavy adversity (Forbes).

Who lived it. Jan Koum came to the United States as a teenager and at one point stood in line for food stamps. In 2014, he signed the sale of WhatsApp at the door of the former welfare office where he had stood in that line (Forbes).

In Bairo. He arrived in Brazil in 2002 and, on leaving the company that brought him, lost his footing, without documents in hand and afraid. He started over from zero, with his partner, opening a salon when their daughter was born. Read more

2. Persistence with passion

The research. Angela Duckworth called grit the combination of perseverance and passion for long-term goals. In six studies, this trait predicted achievement beyond what IQ and conscientiousness explained (Duckworth et al., 2007).

Who lived it. James Dyson took five years and 5,127 prototypes to arrive at the cyclonic vacuum cleaner that gave his company its name (Gizmodo).

In Bairo. No one knows how many times he tried, thought about stopping and almost gave up. The number he chose to tell the story is seven: the seventh attempt was the one that worked. Read more

3. Crossing borders

The research. A study by the National Foundation for American Policy counted 319 companies worth US$1 billion or more, out of 582 American startups, with at least one immigrant founder: 55% (NFAP, 2022).

Who lived it. Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, left the Soviet Union with his family in 1979, at age six (The Immigrant Learning Center).

In Bairo. Born in Colombia in 1982, he said from boyhood that he would live in Brazil. Capoeira was the bridge. Read more

4. Falling before it works

The research. Among venture-backed founders, those who had already failed in a previous business had a 22% chance of success in the next one; first-time founders, 21% (Gompers et al.). Past failure did not take anyone out of the game.

Who lived it. Walt Disney's first studio, Laugh-O-Gram, filed for bankruptcy in July 1923 (Laugh-O-Gram Studio).

In Bairo. Partners who pushed him out of the business, an investment that didn't hold, a project in which he was left hanging. Every no became a brick. Read more

5. Accepting risk

The research. A meta-analysis concluded that entrepreneurs have a higher propensity for risk than managers, and that the difference is larger among those who pursue growth (Stewart and Roth, 2001).

Who lived it. In 2008, with Tesla and SpaceX close to going under, Elon Musk split what he had left between the two (CNBC).

In Bairo. After losing everything, he decided to do what he didn't know how to do: build a currency, a bank and a network. Read more

6. Seeing far

The research. The McKinsey Global Institute followed 615 companies between 2001 and 2014: those managed with a long-term view had cumulative revenue, on average, 47% higher (MGI, 2017).

Who lived it. In his 1997 letter to shareholders, Jeff Bezos wrote that Amazon would make decisions with long-term market leadership in mind, not short-term profit (1997 letter).

In Bairo. He wanted to bring artificial intelligence and augmented reality into the business years before they became a trend. Arriving too early also means arriving alone. Read more

7. Faith and purpose

The research. A meta-analysis of 75 studies found a positive but small relationship between religion and entrepreneurship (Lehmann and Weiße, 2025). And people who work for others persist more when they also enjoy what they do (Grant, 2008).

Who lived it. Truett Cathy closed his first restaurant on Sundays in 1946, out of Christian conviction. Chick-fil-A keeps the rule (Chick-fil-A).

In Bairo. At rock bottom, in a Christian congregation, he heard testimonies and came to believe in the God of the impossible. Read more

8. Teaching yourself

The research. What sets the best apart, Anders Ericsson showed, is deliberate practice accumulated over years (Ericsson et al., 1993).

Who lived it. Thomas Edison attended school for only a few months and learned much of what he knew by reading on his own (National Park Service).

In Bairo. He didn't know how to code. He spent six months at home in front of the computer, and out of that came the foundation of the CEASA Bank platform, a company that had existed since 2019. Read more

9. Taking control

The research. People who believe the outcome depends on their own actions have what Julian Rotter called an internal locus of control (Rotter, 1966). This trait is linked to starting and succeeding in business (Rauch and Frese, 2007).

Who lived it. Soichiro Honda saw one factory bombed and another collapse in an earthquake. He sold what was left and, in 1946, founded the institute that would give rise to Honda (Soichiro Honda).

In Bairo. With many people depending on him, he didn't complain. He went and built. Read more

10. No rush about age

The research. Among the fastest-growing startups in the United States, the average age of the founder at launch is 45 (Azoulay et al., 2020).

Who lived it. Ray Kroc was 52 and selling milkshake machines when he met the McDonald brothers, in 1954 (McDonald's).

In Bairo. At 43, he registered in London the two British companies he runs today. Read more

11. Changing route without changing destination

The research. The Startup Genome Report observed that startups that changed course once or twice raised 2.5 times more money than those that never changed or changed too often (Startup Genome, 2011).

Who lived it. Stewart Butterfield shut down the game Glitch in 2012 and turned the team's internal tool into Slack (Slate).

In Bairo. Salon, course, cosmetics, events, digital printing, currency: the route changed several times. The direction did not. Read more

12. Choosing whom you build with

The research. Noam Wasserman, of Harvard, estimates that 65% of high-potential startups fail because of conflict among founders (CNN).

Who lived it. Steve Jobs was pushed out of Apple in 1985 and returned in 1997 (Cult of Mac).

In Bairo. His partners pushed him out of a business he helped create. Years later, he joined forces with three old acquaintances to finish what he had started. Read more

Why the same traits repeat

Researchers who study entrepreneurs tend to reach a similar conclusion: no single trait makes a founder. What weighs is the combination. Rauch and Frese's meta-analysis showed that traits tied to the task of building a business, such as initiative, stress tolerance, autonomy and confidence in one's own ability, predict the creation and success of a business better than general personality traits. In other words, what counts is what a person does when things get tight.

There is also something the stories on this page share. In almost all of them, the trait appeared first as pain. Disney's bankruptcy came before Mickey. Honda's destroyed factory came before the motorcycle. Jobs's ouster came before the iPhone. Koum's poverty came before WhatsApp. No one chose the fall. They chose what to do with it.

In Bairo's path, the order is the same. The salon, the course, the cosmetics brand, the partners who pushed him aside, the many people who depended on him, the project in which he was left hanging. Each episode is tied to one of the traits above, and each one left something in his hands: method, an eye for the future, the courage to do what he didn't know how to do, the lesson about whom to build with.

What the pattern means

Look at the twelve again. None of them is an inborn talent. All are choices that repeat: starting again, trying once more, learning what is missing, taking charge of your own path, trusting in something bigger than fear.

That is why the pattern matters. It reminds us that everything that seems obvious today was once an "it can't be done." The airplane was a no. The home computer was a no. The message that crosses the world in a second was a no. Before becoming everyday things, each of these ideas was a dream in the head of someone who was told it was impossible.

Bairo does not compare himself to Disney, Jobs or Honda. He recognizes himself on their path, the way one pays tribute. And the sentence that sums up his life is the same one that sums up the pattern: every no is the ground of a yes.

One last thing, said honestly: for every story that reaches us, many people with the same traits tried and did not make it, and that is precisely why it is worth admiring those who keep trying, not only those who won (Denrell, 2003).