For some high achievers, the intense drive for success isn't just about wealth or status. It's a deeply personal mission to prove they are fundamentally different from their origins—a 'revenge' for the circumstances of their birth.

Parker Conrad attributes Rippling's initial momentum and his own perseverance through the difficult early years directly to a 'revenge fantasy.' This dark motivation, born from his ousting at Zenefits, provided a powerful, constant drive when other motivations might have faded during the grind of building a company.

Every successful founder journey includes a point where quitting is the most rational decision. Spencer Skates argues the only way to persevere is to anchor to a deeply held intrinsic motivation or a "mission that's greater than yourself." External motivators like money or recognition are insufficient to overcome this existential pain.

The intense, relentless drive seen in many successful entrepreneurs isn't normal ambition. It's often a corrosive fuel derived from significant personal trauma, like family financial ruin. This experience provides a level of motivation that those from more stable backgrounds may lack.

An exit that provides a significant financial win but isn't enough to retire on can be a powerful motivator. It acts as a 'proof point' that validates the founder's ability while leaving them hungry for a much larger outcome, making them more driven than founders who are either pre-success or have achieved a life-changing exit.

Great founders possess a deep-seated, non-financial motivation—like revenge against former rivals or redemption from a past failure. This "Count of Monte Cristo" drive allows them to persevere through extreme hardship and turn down lucrative but premature exits, a key trait VCs look for.

The intense drive for achievement in many founders isn't primarily about wealth accumulation. Instead, it's a competitive need to win and prove themselves, similar to an athlete's mindset. Financial success serves as a quantifiable measure of their performance in this "sport."

Most highly successful entrepreneurs are motivated by "dirty fuel" like insecurity or trauma, not "clean fuel" like love for their craft. David Senra's study of 400 biographies reveals figures like Ed Thorpe and Sol Price are rare exceptions who achieved mastery without personal collateral damage.

Founders motivated solely by a financial outcome will often quit when faced with a large, early buyout offer. The most resilient founders are driven by a deeper, almost vengeful need to prove others wrong or redeem a past failure, making them unstoppable.