4 ms·

Entrepreneurs Are Made, Not Born, Says New Survey

41 points by Osiris 15y ago

mmcconnell1618 15y ago
The author outlines expenses as about 16% of revenue but I wonder how much the production of the new course material cost? How long did it take to produce? What does the author value their time at? What other previously incurred expenses are not accounted for (i.e. recording equipment or software).
6ren 15y ago
> Their experience as a corporate employee was also the most important source of career learning for a third of all entrepreneurs, the survey said. I think this might partly be that entrepreneurs solve a problem, and a difficulty is knowing about the problem. A way to know about a problem is to experience it: you know what it is, and why it matters. You feel it. Mark Zuckerberg experienced the problem he was solving.
americandesi333 15y ago
The key is to not get stuck in the non-entrepreneurial world for so long that you forget how to be entrepreneurial. I wonder what is the correlation between people that start their companies after 30 and their long-term success rate... To me, I feel like after my 4-5 yrs of work ex, I am more prepared to handle any situation and also have built a list of people to reach out to for guidance, help and just PR. Its important to have that under your belt so you can smoothly transition.
auganov 15y ago
Well I have never seen or heard of an infant entrepreneur so I'm sure they're not born :-) Seriously though my point is that just because a lot of entrepreneurs get a lot of valuable nurture does not mean there are no innate factors at play. Almost every genius that has achieved remarkable things in their lives has gone through a lot of nurturing. But there are two fundamental questions. Did the nature determine what nurture he choose to have? That one is almost impossible to answer. The second would be if nature has equipped him with an ability to get more out of the same nurture than somebody else might. I'm not making any assumptions at all, it's a problem far too complex for me to even have a guess at the solution and I doubt there's anyone capable of. I just want to point out that studies like that are pretty meaningless, all they tell us is "entrepreneurs do not randomly get genius ideas and the skills to execute them, they actually did put in some effort". Hardly something surprising.
solson 15y ago
For someone with entrepreneurial aspirations, getting a corporate job is a great way to learn more about a business or a market. However, be aware it can be a trap. Getting married, getting a mortgage, having kids, may keep you trapped at the corporation until you're 52, you get laid off and your only asset is old irrelevant or proprietary knowledge. If you're young, my advice is, find a way to OWN assets. Don't wait until you're 30 or 40 or 50. Start now! Don't trade your life away building valuable assets for someone else. Make sure you get a piece of what you are building.
- mathgladiator 15y ago
  Aren't kids an asset at some level?
  - auganov 15y ago
    You see, you are or will potentially be a loving parent :-) Nowadays I hear most people saying how kids are a liability.
    - solson 15y ago
      I have 2 kids and I love them and yes they are an asset but at the same time they are expensive. My point is... Once you have kids, I guarantee you will be more risk averse. The best time to start a business is before you have kids or after they've grown. You won't find a lot of people who quit a good corporate job and do a start up with small children at home. Clearly there are a few, but they are outliers. If do start a business with small children at home, you'll need a highly supportive spouse.
    - mathgladiator 15y ago
      I would be a loving parent, but that's not in my card. I love my kids so much, that I'm not going to create them in the first place to subject them to the horrors of this world and the ultimate fear of death.
  - anamax 15y ago
    > Aren't kids an asset at some level? They can be, but what is the payback and when does it occur? How liquid is it? For example, planting an orchard is an investment. It won't start producing for a couple of years, but it may be sellable before then. While kids may eventually provide some cash flow to their parents, that may not happen for many years and is generally hard to sell.
areya2005 15y ago
I'm gunna go ahead and say while there are tons of information you can teach, real ENTREPRENEURS, and not necessarily small business owners, have a unique set of innate traits that cannot be taught.

41 points by Osiris 15y ago

The author outlines expenses as about 16% of revenue but I wonder how much the production of the new course material cost? How long did it take to produce? What does the author value their time at? What other previously incurred expenses are not accounted for (i.e. recording equipment or software).

6ren 15y ago

> Their experience as a corporate employee was also the most important source of career learning for a third of all entrepreneurs, the survey said. I think this might partly be that entrepreneurs solve a problem, and a difficulty is knowing about the problem. A way to know about a problem is to experience it: you know what it is, and why it matters. You feel it. Mark Zuckerberg experienced the problem he was solving.

americandesi333 15y ago

The key is to not get stuck in the non-entrepreneurial world for so long that you forget how to be entrepreneurial. I wonder what is the correlation between people that start their companies after 30 and their long-term success rate... To me, I feel like after my 4-5 yrs of work ex, I am more prepared to handle any situation and also have built a list of people to reach out to for guidance, help and just PR. Its important to have that under your belt so you can smoothly transition.

auganov 15y ago

Well I have never seen or heard of an infant entrepreneur so I'm sure they're not born :-) Seriously though my point is that just because a lot of entrepreneurs get a lot of valuable nurture does not mean there are no innate factors at play. Almost every genius that has achieved remarkable things in their lives has gone through a lot of nurturing. But there are two fundamental questions. Did the nature determine what nurture he choose to have? That one is almost impossible to answer. The second would be if nature has equipped him with an ability to get more out of the same nurture than somebody else might. I'm not making any assumptions at all, it's a problem far too complex for me to even have a guess at the solution and I doubt there's anyone capable of. I just want to point out that studies like that are pretty meaningless, all they tell us is "entrepreneurs do not randomly get genius ideas and the skills to execute them, they actually did put in some effort". Hardly something surprising.

solson 15y ago

For someone with entrepreneurial aspirations, getting a corporate job is a great way to learn more about a business or a market. However, be aware it can be a trap. Getting married, getting a mortgage, having kids, may keep you trapped at the corporation until you're 52, you get laid off and your only asset is old irrelevant or proprietary knowledge. If you're young, my advice is, find a way to OWN assets. Don't wait until you're 30 or 40 or 50. Start now! Don't trade your life away building valuable assets for someone else. Make sure you get a piece of what you are building.

mathgladiator 15y ago
Aren't kids an asset at some level?
- auganov 15y ago
  You see, you are or will potentially be a loving parent :-) Nowadays I hear most people saying how kids are a liability.
  - solson 15y ago
    I have 2 kids and I love them and yes they are an asset but at the same time they are expensive. My point is... Once you have kids, I guarantee you will be more risk averse. The best time to start a business is before you have kids or after they've grown. You won't find a lot of people who quit a good corporate job and do a start up with small children at home. Clearly there are a few, but they are outliers. If do start a business with small children at home, you'll need a highly supportive spouse.
  - mathgladiator 15y ago
    I would be a loving parent, but that's not in my card. I love my kids so much, that I'm not going to create them in the first place to subject them to the horrors of this world and the ultimate fear of death.
- anamax 15y ago
  > Aren't kids an asset at some level? They can be, but what is the payback and when does it occur? How liquid is it? For example, planting an orchard is an investment. It won't start producing for a couple of years, but it may be sellable before then. While kids may eventually provide some cash flow to their parents, that may not happen for many years and is generally hard to sell.

areya2005 15y ago

I'm gunna go ahead and say while there are tons of information you can teach, real ENTREPRENEURS, and not necessarily small business owners, have a unique set of innate traits that cannot be taught.