What Today’s Entrepreneurs Can Learn From America’s Founders

As America prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we are called not only to celebrate a historic occasion, but to remember the courageous acts and sacrifices that made it possible. In 1776, 56 representatives from the 13 colonies risked everything to break from the British empire, asserting that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Their bravery gave birth to the United States of America, an experiment in democracy that has endured for two and a half centuries.

For me, this anniversary is profoundly personal.

I grew up in D.C., raised in the shadow of the White House and the Capitol Building. As the son of parents who both worked in the federal government and viewed that service as one of the highest honors of their lives, I have always felt an abiding reverence for our Nation along with those who serve it and helped build it.

I firmly believe that creating anything meaningful begins with the audacious presumption that any challenge can be overcome and made better with fortitude, conviction, and gumption. And while today’s founders may not need bayonets or muskets to build businesses, they do need many of the qualities that allowed our Nation’s Founders to persevere and prevail over the powerful forces that sought to suppress them.  

Here are three lessons I have taken from our Nation’s Founding Fathers:

“Leadership is not only having a vision, but also having the courage, the discipline, and the resources to get you there.”

— George Washington

The Declaration of Independence was signed long before victory was assured. Effective founders operate the same way. They are diligent in their commitment to a future others cannot yet see, boldly pursuing opportunities without a guarantee of success and bringing together the right combination of talent to make their vision a reality.

“If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking.”

— Benjamin Franklin

The founders understood that enduring solutions are rarely created in an echo chamber. As a result, the Declaration of Independence emerged through debate and collaboration among individuals with different viewpoints and lived experiences. For us, this principle is so foundational, it drove our decision to name ourselves Red Cell. Inspired by the CIA’s post-911 Red Cell concept—which focused on engaging cross-functional subject matter experts to look at problems in a different light, challenge conventional models, and propose innovative responses to complex questions—our name and our approach honor the necessity to think outside the box and dare to be different. 

 “All the genius I have lies in this: When I have a subject in hand, I study it profoundly. Day and night it is before me. My mind becomes pervaded with it…[Genius] is the fruit of labor and thought.”

— Alexander Hamilton

Hamilton understood that mastery is rarely the product of talent alone. More often, it is the result of intense focus, relentless curiosity, and countless hours of steadfast effort. The same principle applies to entrepreneurship. Accomplished founders understand that success is the product of constant effort. They become experts in the problems they seek to solve; immerse themselves in their industry, their customers, and their mission; obsess over every detail; and persist through setbacks that would dissuade most.

This nation has given me so much. It has allowed me, a college dropout with little more than a vision and the determination to pursue it, to eventually go on to build businesses that are having real and measurable impact on the health, safety, and security of our great country. I am living the American Dream because generations before me had the tenacity to pursue their own aspirations for a better future. 

Today, the question is not just how we honor America’s Founders, but how we can emulate them. For entrepreneurs like me, the answer is simple: We do so by building. As John Hancock, himself a businessman, observed: “The more people who own little businesses of their own, the safer our country will be, and better off its cities and towns; for the people who have a stake in their country and their community are its best citizens.”

I believe he was right. The American experiment has always depended on the men and women willing to build systems better than the ones that existed before. They are the reasons why our Republic has thrived for 250 years and why, I believe, our best days still lie ahead.