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Start-ups exist not to make stuff, make money, or serve customers. They exist to learn how to build a sustainable business. Eric Ries
A business requires management, a startup a special kind of guidance: entrepreneurship!
But what exactly characterizes an entrepreneur and what skills should he/she have?
According to Kevin Ready, a serial entrepreneur from the US, entrepreneurs go through different stages: beginner, builder, and expert.
He explains that the beginner is enthusiastic and wants to make a difference. The beginner believes that having an idea is all it takes to be successful and is rather inflexibly in his approach but will later on realize the complexity of the market.
Kevin Ready states that the builder “has gone out and put his money and time into an effort and begun to make hard contact with reality. While facing challenges, the builder is pushing through them step by step.” He does not lose his enthusiasm and believes that there is a “tactical solution to most problems”. The builder’s most valuable asset is his persistence!
Kevin Ready claims that after facing challenges and learning from them, entrepreneurs finally become an expert. This stage is characterized by his X-ray vision, which means that the expert detects problems before they occur. He does not take success for granted and most importantly, he reacts flexible to things that are “beyond his knowledge and control.”
Kevin Ready goes even further: He believes that someone who has gone through all stages realizes that he/she is a serial entrepreneur. A serial entrepreneur is someone who builds businesses again and again. He argues that “they know that being out there in the thick of the chase and dealing with the uncertainty and challenge is where they have to be” and “often realize that the chase itself is the reward.”
To sum Kevin Ready’s characterization of an entrepreneur up: “to dream the impossible dream, […] to see and believe in a vision is what defines us who decide to take a risk, head out into the unknown […] and make their dreams become reality” and “optimism fuels […] [us] through the tough times.”
In comparison, Eric Ries, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and author recognized for pioneering the Lean Startup movement, takes a “scientific approach to creating and managing startups.”
He expresses that as an entrepreneur you will face failure and that “figuring out how to fail quickly and move on is a key component of eventually achieving success.”
Lori Kozlowski , writer and digital editor, compares his approach to an old school formula: “Purpose, Research, Hypothesis, Experiment, Analysis and Conclusion”. Ries suggests that as part of the entrepreneurship process, you need to “emphasize rapid prototyping and testing your assumptions about the market. If you don’t have something that can scale or that users will actually adopt, you want to scrap it as soon as possible.”
Furthermore, Eric Ries recommends that entrepreneurs need to step outside of themselves and double check their idea. He argues that “many start-ups operate in a vacuum, where it is underscored for them over and over again that their idea is great!”
Referring to his Lean Start-Up Principles (which I will further talk about in my next post) he believes that entrepreneurship “can be learned which [also] means that it can be taught.”
Lori Kozlowski points out that “many start-ups operate in a state of serendipity — constantly cross-pollinating with other smart ideas. And it is great connections that catapult them forward versus science and measurement.” In her opinion, it is the mixture of both that makes an entrepreneur successful!
Check out this link to see if you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur!
Finally, to leave you with the words of Steve Jobs:
Stay hungry, stay foolish.
katharinakueppers said:
I just love how you found a way to include other people opinions without making it messy. I have had trouble with that, but I think you solved this problem in a very neat way and I will try adapting a little of your style to solve it too 😉
But on the other hand it’s not really clear to me what you want to tell us with your post..? Do you want us to become entrepreneurs?
I would have preferred a more summarizing/explanatory end where you told us, why you wrote about this topic or what was your special concern/connection with it.
Cheers.
sushi030 said:
Hey Kathy,
Sorry for my late reply but I really appreciated your feedback!
You are totally right: I was not satisfied with my introduction and ending either. So in my new post I tried to clarify what I’m going to talk about in the beginning and then end my post with a short summary. If you are interested, I’d love for you to read my post about “secrets to success” and get your feedback if I managed to improve my structure and logic! So thank you for your great advice!
Also, I did not mean to convince anybody to become an entrepreneur. I just thought that since we study management it might be interesting to get an inside view of experienced entrepreneurs and how they changed with time and experience and most importantly, what they point out to be important skill sets! And if you want to open your own business, I hope that my post could even be encouraging!
I hope I answered your question and thank you once more!
Susi
Mai said:
I am so glad that you write about this topic. I believe that many people want to become their own Boss, and I can remember Mr. Davis’ words when he said that if we have a good idea we should not fear to try it! Really motivating.
Therefore I think it is really good that you provide some more information on this issue since we don’t learn a lot in our studies even though it is a business school.
I also did the test you provided and my result was: I might be an entrepreneur. Haha, I should think of a great idea to turn that into business 🙂
What I would appreciate is some personal information on the topic. For example, are you thinking of becoming an entrepreneur or do you know friends or friends of friends that made you digging into this topic?
On top, the steps you introduced would have been better to understand if you had explained it with an example. A story of a start-up or so.
But other than that, I’m looking forward to the next parts!
sushi030 said:
Hey Mai,
First of all, thank you for your thoughtful comment!
After I wrote about three Berlin startups I discovered my interest in this particular topic. So I wanted to continue writting about startups but rather than introducing existing businesses, I thought to change the direction and to write about startups in general.The post about entrepreneurs was the first one of my serie.
I am not sure if I want to open my own business but I know a few people that did (check out my post about Go4Foto: https://berlinlcalling.wordpress.com/2012/05/15/go4foto-discover-extraordinary-sceneries-of-the-city/) and I find it fascinating and exciting!
When I tried to find my “special field” I discovered that I was interested to understand a business as a whole, so I thought that during the startup phase of a business, you can get a great inside and most importantly a better understanding of how businesses function!
I hope I could answer your questions and thank you once more for your feedback!
Susi
stefochka said:
Hej Susi! I really like your series about start-ups!
Unlike Mai I think that it was totally okay, not including your own intention of whether becoming an entrepreneur or not and an example you have already given with you last posts about “Mein Haus am See.”
However, there was one thing that stoke me:
Entrepreneurs “need to step outside of themselves and double check their idea”, you said. I think this is not only for entrepreneurs but for all of us facing important decisions. Unfortunately it is one the hardest things ever. What do you suggest in becoming able to do so?
sushi030 said:
Stefochka, thank you for your feedback!
I think “double checking your idea” is all about communication! I think the owners of Mein Haus am See set the perfect example: even though they had an idea of how to design Mein Haus am See they did not stop talking to their potential customers. They went on the street with their own survey questioning people what they would wish for in a bar. I think that is so much more efficient than only relying on databases. Even when they started constructions they kept sharing their ideas and had an open ear for suggestions. I think it is important to stay flexible and communication is the key to reacting to different demands!
Bruce Spear said:
I totally agree with katharinakueppers’ praise for how your use of bold/strong helps me follow your article’s thread, making the page much more readable and so your argument much easier to understand. Your discussion through the words of others is excellent, thanks!
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