A while back, when a technical startup founder mentioned to me that he wasn't sure he had the personality to be an entrepreneur, I realized how important this insight was. My first thought is that if you are more annoyed than energized by expert advice, team suggestions, and customer input, then you should probably avoid this line of work.
Actually, it's more complicated than that, but that's a good start. After working with entrepreneurs for more than a decade, I have developed a good "radar" to quickly recognize the mentalities that will likely pass the test of investors, employees, and customers.
However, it's easier for me to look in from the outside than it is for you to look out. So, here is a list of mentality characteristics, which I believe are absolutely necessary for you to see in yourself as an entrepreneur. On the other hand, if any of these characteristics cause you stress and discomfort, you probably won't be happy in the role of an entrepreneur:
You enjoy being the visionary leader: Being able to envision what the business and industry will be like in years to come is a skill that can guarantee that you will be around for the long haul. What makes most success stories in business is not totally reinventing the wheel, but leading the charge to make the current wheel better or applying the existing wheel to a new market opportunity.
Sometimes you are creative, sometimes logical: A successful entrepreneur has to come up with innovative ideas but also turn them into a value-creating profitable business. This requires a good amount of both left-brain and right-brain activities, with enough common sense to find the balance.
Risk energizes you: To really enjoy the ride in the world of entrepreneurship, you need to be able to sustain yourself outside of your comfort zone and have a sense of adventure. Startups never go as you anticipated. This is why you need to be ready to go "off the script" and improvise, and enjoy the thrill of victory when it works.
Actively seek others' input: The quicker you learn not to take it personally (and it's hard when it's your business and your creation), the more successful you will be. You will always come across people who will criticize you, no matter how great or valuable your product or service may be.
Motivated yet patient: When you start a business, you need to have the frame of mind that this is what you want to do for the foreseeable future or at least until your current goals are achieved. Most people want financial freedom, but they want results immediately, and this is not the case 99 percent of the time. Most successful entrepreneurs understand that success does not come overnight; it takes years.
Jack of all trades: When running a business, you'll be doing a little bit of everything. You have to be good but not an expert at everything you do, and you have to know when to be flexible and when to ask for help. If you want to specialize in just one thing, then running a business might not be for you.
If you don't fit into everyone's personal view of an entrepreneur's mentality, don't be totally discouraged, and don't worry about someone else's view. Winning businesses have been started by people of every type. Yet, overall, the facts are that about two-thirds of startups fail as a business (which means they are not sustainable financially), so think hard before you ignore warning signs.
I'm convinced that if entrepreneurs spent half as much time evaluating themselves and what makes them happy, as they do writing business plans and visiting attorneys and accountants, they would be winners far more often.
Finally, don't forget that the most important thing is to always do something that you enjoy. Life is too short to be going to work every day unhappy. Beyond that, I believe success is a state of mind derived from confidence, self-esteem, and what you really want in life. How strongly do you really want to manage a startup versus continuing to build great products for someone else to manage and sell?
Some people assert that technical entrepreneurs with the personal attributes discussed earlier have to be "natural-born," and you either are one or you aren't. I concede that good, natural-born entrepreneurs do exist, but more often, I tend to agree with Peter Drucker, who said "It's not magic, it's not mysterious, and it has nothing to do with genes. It's a discipline, and like any discipline, it can be learned."
On the natural-born side, some entrepreneurs seem to have a strong vision and the ability to inspirationally lead others based on their background, upbringing, and early experiences. It is this vision that is the beacon to drive the right people behavior, leading to the success of the business. If you don't have a vision in your heart or if you don't have the strength to inspire people, entrepreneurship is probably the wrong road for you.
If you feel you do have the right characteristics, you can still benefit from learning some skills and disciplines that improve the success and the impact of every technical entrepreneur. Here are some of the key ones, assembled from an old interview with Herb Kelleher (http://searchcio.techtarget.com/news/924412/Entrepreneurs-Born-or-made-A-conversation-with-Herb-Kelleher-of-Southwest-Airlines) of Southwest Airlines and other executives:
Ability to set priorities and focus on goals: Many people allow themselves to be driven by the crisis of the moment. Personal discipline is the key word here. Set yourself some priorities and goals, and live by them.
Ability to identify important issues: Some people call this common sense; others call it 'street smarts.' In the normal startup environment, there are multiple forces that compete for your attention every day, and you need to learn to delegate or ignore many. It relates back to experience and knowledge, more than genes.
Conviction to be a passionate advocate: When you believe in something enough to turn your passion into action, you have become an advocate. This power and voice is then used to persuade others to make the correct decision. An effective advocate requires conviction, usually acquired during related first-hand experience or training.
Broad knowledge and experience: Experience allows one to tackle challenges with confidence, in a given area. Broad knowledge facilitates the same success in other business areas. Entrepreneurs need this, because their challenges are across the spectrum, from technical to legal, operational, financial, and organizational.
Active listening skills: Above all, the ability to listen and understand the real meaning of what people are saying (and not saying) is paramount, because the most important information never arrives in reports or via e-mails. Some people pick this up from experience, and others find classroom courses most helpful in setting the focus. The best experience is getting outside the building and talking to real customers.
Sound judgment: I don't think anyone is born with sound judgment; it has to be learned but can be started at a very early age. Every entrepreneur must have the capacity to assess situations or circumstances shrewdly and to draw proper conclusions.
Pleasant skepticism: Skepticism is not doubting but applying reason and critical thinking to determine validity. It's the process of searching for a supportable conclusion opposed to justifying a preconceived conclusion. It is a learned skill.
All these characteristics revolve around the larger theme of team building. In short, to succeed, the entrepreneur must see and articulate a vision in order to attract and motivate a team and then be able to identify the key issues, challenge the views held within the team, and make judgments from among the varying perspectives in the team.
Every technical entrepreneur enters the game with a unique combination of genes and skills. If the things mentioned here feel natural to you and if you are young at heart (optimistic and fun loving) and have a healthy curiosity and zest for life, the entrepreneurial world may have a place for you too. Give it a try. If you start having fun, you probably have what it takes.
Whether natural-born or learned, the best technical entrepreneurs have a range of skills and insights across many fronts, from business to technical to interpersonal. I used to call this range of insights 'street smarts', but recently, I found a better explanation called multiple intelligences. Successful entrepreneurs always seem to be adept in several of these areas.
The theory of multiple intelligences was developed way back in 1983 by Dr. Howard Gardner (http://www.amazon.com/Multiple-Intelligences-Theory-Practice-Reader/dp/046501822X), at Harvard University. He suggests that the traditional notion of intelligence, called the Intelligent Quotient (IQ), is far too limited. Instead, he now accepts at least eight different intelligences that cover a broad range of human potential. These include the following:
Linguistic intelligence (word smart): Linguistic intelligence is the ability to think in words and use language to express complex meanings. Linguistic intelligence is the most widely shared human competence, most evident in poets and novelists. It is also evident in entrepreneurs writing good business plans and convincing investors.
Interpersonal intelligence (people smart): Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to understand and interact effectively with others. It involves effective verbal and nonverbal communication, sensitivity to moods and temperaments, and the ability to understand multiple perspectives. Entrepreneurs, particularly, need interpersonal intelligence.
Intrapersonal intelligence (self-smart): Intrapersonal intelligence is the capacity to understand oneself and to use such knowledge in planning and strategy. Intrapersonal intelligence involves not only an appreciation of the self, but also of the human condition. It is evident in psychologists, spiritual leaders, and business leaders.
Bodily kinesthetic intelligence (body smart): Bodily kinesthetic intelligence is the capacity to manipulate objects and use a variety of physical skills. This intelligence also involves a sense of timing and the perfection of skills through mind–body union. Inventors and people who provide mechanical products need this intelligence.
Logical-mathematical intelligence (number/reasoning smart): Logical-mathematical intelligence is the ability to calculate, quantify, and think logically. This intelligence is usually well developed in mathematicians, technologists, and computer programmers, and it is usually associated with traditional IQ.
Naturalist intelligence (nature smart): Naturalist intelligence designates the human ability to discriminate among living things as well as sensitivity to other features of the natural world. I believe that good entrepreneurs use this to discriminate among consumer needs and pick the most marketable products to offer.
Musical intelligence (musical smart): Musical intelligence is the capacity to discern pitch, rhythm, timbre, and tone. This intelligence enables us to recognize, create, reproduce, and reflect on music interests and needs, as demonstrated by composers, conductors, musicians, vocalists, and sensitive listeners. There is a known correlation between engineers, software developers, and those with strong musical smarts.
Spatial intelligence (picture smart): Spatial intelligence is the ability to think in three dimensions. Core capacities include mental imagery, spatial reasoning, graphic and artistic skills, and an active imagination. Sailors, pilots, sculptors, painters, and architects all exhibit spatial intelligence. It's easy to see how this is important to entrepreneurs who design and build physical products (nonsoftware).
Robert L Schwarz once said, "The entrepreneur is essentially a visualizer and an actualizer. He can visualize something, and when he visualizes it, he sees exactly how to make it happen." This is a combination of intelligences many people don't have. If you have it, flaunt it and enjoy your foray into the entrepreneurial lifestyle.
Over the years, I've had the privilege of working with some of the best technical entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley and elsewhere. On the average, the entrepreneurs I know are living on Ramen noodles. However, one thing they all seem to have in common is a love for learning and change. They rush in with a passion to better the world, and money is just an indication of their progress.
The successful ones then invest their time and money in furthering their knowledge base. I'm not talking about academic classes, because at best, these only teach you how to learn. In these days of rapid change, I believe that most of the facts that college students learn as a sophomore are obsolete before they exit their senior year.
Learning should be viewed as an ongoing part of everything you do and as one of the most important things. It's an unfortunate artifact of our educational system that young people spend a dozen years focused more on memorizing facts than the learning process and then thinking that they will have all they need to know for the rest of their lives by the time they graduate.
In business, as in most other disciplines, there are practical steps towards learning what you need for the next stage of your company and your life. These include the following:
Networking with people who know: A question I sometimes get from startup founders is, "What do I talk to these guys about?" I say you can't learn much if you are doing all the talking. Just ask investors what they look for in successful companies. I've never known any successful entrepreneurs or investors who were not happy to share their insights.
Read entrepreneur stories: Most successful entrepreneurs have been written about on the Internet, in magazines, or books. Spend some time with these biographies, and soak up the insights offered and take inspiration from them. Follow-up online with social networking to make contacts, dig deeper, and maybe even line them up a mentor.
Adopt a mentor: Boomers and other former executives who have "been there and done that" make great mentors. They have the time and interest in "giving back" some of what they have learned to the next generation. Gen-X executives may be too busy running their own companies to be mentors. A mentor is someone who doesn't let ego or money get in the way of helping.
Formal learning: Some formal learning is always advisable, but go beyond university MBA courses to professional seminars and case studies. Formal courses work best for basics, such as a business startup course or financial accounting. Go with topics you are interested in and need now.
Volunteering with local organizations: This type of work is highly valuable in any environment, including universities and professional organizations. The payback is that you can get experience for free while working on real stuff. I've done business plan judging at local universities and learned more than I contributed.
Just start a business: There is no better way to learn about being entrepreneurial than starting a business. No matter how much advice and counsel you have been given, I guarantee that you will encounter new challenges daily to enhance your learning opportunities.
If you are one of those people who likes structured classes to learn and counts on spending at least 2 weeks per year in the classroom to "catch up," this is laudable, but don't try to start a business at the same time. It won't happen.
If you have decided to become a technical entrepreneur solely to make more money, you are also likely to be disappointed. It's that double challenge of learning to overcome all obstacles while still surviving on the financial front that keeps a good entrepreneur motivated to face a new day.
I would recommend business networking as the most effective way for a technical startup founder to find investors, advisors, and even key executive candidates. However, what if you are an introvert or new to this game and don't know where or how to start?
The answer is still the same, but I have learned over the years that there is etiquette to this process, just like there is for social networking. Here are a few of the "do's":
Post your profile on LinkedIn and Twitter, and join in startup discussions: Of the 200 or so social networks that are now recognized by Wikipedia, there are other social networks, such as Orkut, Netlog, and Sina Weibo, that entrepreneurs use for networking, depending on where you are in the world. Talking to friends on Facebook probably won't help you. Reading and posting on Hacker News is popular, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Join and actively participate in local business organizations: Business groups such as TiE-The Indus Entrepreneurs (https://www.tie.org/) and EO-Entrepreneurs Organization (http://www.eonetwork.org/Pages/welcome.aspx) are places to meet people you can help as well as people who can help you. Remember that it helps to give a little to get something back. Another place to start is the local Chamber of Commerce.
Get introductions from existing business contacts: Start with the people you know, who know your work, and would recommend you to others. It isn't always the first introduction but the friend of a friend who may be the one that pays dividends.
Volunteer to help out with entrepreneur activities at your local university: All universities love and need to get help from people in the "real world" to coach and judge activities in their Entrepreneurship and MBA programs. In return, you will meet or be connected to many people who can help you.
Attend an investment conference: These events are swarming with potential investors, and this is the forum where they are actively soliciting new opportunities. So, don't be shy about handing out your business card at breaks, lunch, mixers, or scheduled activities.
Offer to give back where you can: Ask every potential investor and mentor how you can help them. You may be able to contribute services, provide connections, or generally support their efforts in some way. It's a great way to generate goodwill.
Join a local investment group. If you can meet the SEC "accredited investor" criteria ($1M net worth or $200K annual income), this is a great way to be seen by potential investors as peers before you need money. In addition to this, you will see how the process really works from the other side of the table—the best preparation you could have for your own approach later. In most cases, these groups don't require that you invest in others, as a condition of membership.
If all of these are obvious to you, then you are already on the right track, and you probably wouldn't consider doing any of the "don'ts":
Don't do cold calls or e-mail blasts of your resume and business plan to potential investors. It's a waste of their time as well as yours and is an annoyance to many.
Don't corner and barrage that heavy hitter you heard about with your life history at a social gathering.
Don't send your unfinished business plan unsolicited to every VC or investment group you can find on the Internet just to see whether they like the concept.
Don't hand out your business cards to everyone in the room in the hope that one will be impressed with how unique and expensive it looks.
On LinkedIn, don't complain to everyone that you are limited to only 3,000 invitations and request them to send you an invitation to become friends. LinkedIn only allows you to send 3,000 new invites per membership. (How many friends do you need?)
Back on the positive side, I like to say, especially for us introverts, that networking is more about listening than it is about talking. Believe it or not, most successful investors have big egos and will probably remember you better if they do most of the talking at first. Nevertheless, have your 30-second pitch honed, and don't be shy about giving it. Don't forget your enthusiasm, and have fun, but remember your manners!
You can't win as a technical entrepreneur working alone. You need to have business relationships with team members, investors, customers, and a myriad of other people. This doesn't mean you have to be a social butterfly to succeed or introverts need not apply.
It does mean that you need to look, listen, and participate in the business world around you and network through all available channels such as business-oriented social networks online, local business organizations, and events or conferences in your domain.
I hope all this seems obvious to you, but I still get a good number of notes from "entrepreneurs" who have been busy inventing things all their life but can't find a partner to start their first business, and others trying to find an executive, an investor, or a lawyer.
What these people need is more relationships, not more experts, more blogs, or more books. So, I thought I would explore some essentials in building and nurturing business relationships (most of these apply to personal relationships as well):
Build your network: These are people of all levels who have been there and done that, which means people who know something that you need to know. See the previous section on how and where to get started. You don't need a thousand friends, but a few real ones can make all the difference.
Give and you will receive: Relationships need to be two-way and can't be just all about you. If you are active in helping others with what you know, they will be much more open to help you when you need it. The more you give, the more you get in return, both literally and figuratively.
Work on your elevator pitch: This is a concise, well-practiced description of your idea or your startup, delivered with conviction to start a relationship in the time it takes to ride up an elevator. It should end by asking for something to start the relationship.
Don't skip all business social settings: Face time is critical, even with the current rage on social networks, phone texting, and e-mail. Studies show that the majority of communication is body language. This is usually the important part of the relationship.
Nominate someone as your mentor: Build a two-way relationship with several people who can help you, and then kick it up a notch with one or more by asking them to be your mentor. Most entrepreneurs love to help others and will be honored to help you.
Cultivate existing allies: These are people who already know and believe in you but might not be able to help you directly in your new endeavors. However, don't forget that each of these allies also has their own network, which can be an extension of yours if you treat them well.
Nurture existing relationships: We all know someone who claims to be a "close friend" but never initiates anything. They never call, never write, and wait for you to make the first move. If you don't follow-up on a regular basis with someone, then there is no relationship, only a former acquaintance.
On the positive side, many attributes of an introvert lead to better business decisions, such as thinking before speaking, building deep relationships, and researching problems more thoroughly. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder, is currently the most famous introvert entrepreneur, so don't let anyone tell you it can't be done.
One of Mark's secrets seems to have been to surround himself by extroverts such as COO Sheryl Sandberg and people who have a complementary energy. However, working alone doesn't get you very far. It takes a team to win the game of business, so take a look around you to see how you are doing so far.