building a great entrepreneur

Building a Great EntrepreneurSo what makes a great entrepreneur? Strong leadership skills? Good education? Previous experience? Motivation to see things through? It depends.

In a recent study of 549 founders,2 Duke University sought out what demographic and psychographic factors great entrepreneurs share. A few things stood out:

#StartupEquation2. Wadhwa, Vivek, The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur, http://www.kauffman.org/what-we-do/research/2010/05/the-anatomy-of-an-entrepreneur

We’re not talking college or grad school, but high school. Most people around the world get a high school education and many can’t go to college because of some factors (usually money), but it doesn’t mean they aren’t some of the smartest people.

They were supersmart in high school.

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High School Academic Performance

Top 10%

Bottom 10%

Bottom 30%

Average Top 30%

While there are many young entrepreneurs with very little job experience, most have six to fifteen years of experience. This means they’ve gotten out there and know how different job roles, have tried a few different companies, and see the startup opportunity as a next step.

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They have some industry experience under their belt.

0-5 years

6-10 years

11-15 years

18-20 years

20+ years

Industry experience prior to starting their own business.

24.6%

23.3%

27.6%

14.3%

10.2%

The media impresses upon us that today’s entrepreneurs are in their twenties and have the lifestyle to go all in, but that isn’t really the case. They usually have experience and want to build something that’s great. They often look to their family to keep them motivated.

#StartupEquationMany are married and have at least one child.

First Born

Lower Middle Class

First in family to start a business

Married

Had at least 1 child

While the thought of “doing a startup” can sound sexy, great entrepreneurs want to build something great. Of course, they would like to receive financial reward for their efforts, but most of the time they aren’t in it for the money.

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They’re motivated to build a company and create wealth.

Finding the leader withinAs entrepreneurs and investors, there’s something that’s abundantly clear to us and most people in the startup world: Entrepreneurs are natural leaders even if they don’t realize it. When we hear the term leadership, it’s easy to think of presidents and big company CEOs, but leaders are those who shine and show the way forward.

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Great entrepreneurs have a singular, unshakable vision. They clearly communicate their vision as a driving passion that inspires the entire company to share their vision and to make it their own. They’re not the ones steering the ship, nor are they the ones rigging the sails.

Having a Clear, Shared Vision

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Great entrepreneurs are committed to completing the mission and achieving the vision. Nothing can distract them, detain them, or deter them from reaching their goal. Their focus is on the goal, and they’re determined to reach it. They must be able to say “No” to otherwise good ideas because they might divert them from the task at hand.

Making the Commitment to see it through

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Great entrepreneurs can’t get the job done alone. They must enable others by equipping and empowering them to get it done. Instead of becoming a monarch, the most savvy may become a servant or ask their staff to think of them as their internal clients.

Enabling to get the task done

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Everyone must be accountable to someone. The leader is accountable to customers to deliver the goods, to stakeholders to deliver the profits, and to employees to deliver direction. Purpose, empowerment, inspiration, and reward.

Each member of the crew is accountable to the others to be as strong a link in the chain as the rest. Failure and success must be consistently rewarded in appropriate proportion to ensure that the ship stays on course.

Putting accountability in place

Becoming an Entrepreneur starts with knowing yourself and what you really want out of building a business. No two people are the same. Order The Startup Equation to find your unique startup path.

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