The Habits of Five Amazing Founders

By Leo Babauta

If you haven’t been following my Habits of Entrepreneurs video interview series, you’re in for a treat.

I’ve released a powerful lineup of interviews with five founders: Kevin Rose (1.45 million Twitter followers), Todd Masonis of Dandelion Chocolate, Tony Stubblebine of Lift, Joel Gascoigne of Buffer, and Mike Del Ponte of SomaWater.

These awesome entrepreneurs share their best habits with me, from morning routines to workouts to picking investments to refining the details of their hand-crafted products.

Watch the short versions of each interview below, or subscribe to Habits of Entrepreneurs for the full interview. (Note: Go to the website if you can’t see the videos below in your email.)

Kevin Rose, Digg.com & Google Ventures

Kevin is a general partner at Google Ventures and co-founded Revision3, Digg, Pownce, and Milk.

Kevin talks about the criteria he uses when investing in a new venture,  how to properly structure a business, understanding/learning things he didn’t know, the importance of mentors, and more.

Get the full interview with Kevin Rose.

Todd Masonis, Dandelion Chocolate

Todd Masonis is the co-founder of Dandelion Chocolate, a fantastic bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the Mission District of San Francisco.

Todd talks about taking risks, hiring well and the values that make Dandelion Chocolate one of the highest quality chocolate makers in the world.

Get the full interview with Todd Masonis.

Tony Stubblebine, Lift Habit App

Tony Stubblebine is the CEO and co-founder of Lift, an awesome app for forming habits. Tony has worked on a number of tech startups, including with some of the guys who founded Twitter, and has put together a team that has created one of the best ways to create a new habit. The Lift team is also launching a fascinating new diet project, the Quantified Diet.

Tony talks about habits, productivity, goals, entrepreneurship, his background on behavior modification, and what he’s learned.

Get the full interview with Tony Stubblebine.

Joel Gascoigne, Buffer

Joel Gascoigne is the Founder and CEO of Buffer, an app that shares your content at preset times throughout the day so that your followers and fans see your updates more often.

Joel talks about habits, his morning routine, including meditation and the culture he is building at Buffer.

Get the full interview with Joel Gascione.

Mike Del Ponte, SomaWater

Mike Del Ponte is the co-founder of SomaWater, a beautifully designed water filter company made from sustainable materials.

Mike talks about his simple and effective morning routine as well as his secret for finding your calling. Don’t miss this one!

Get the full interview with Mike Del Ponte.