What it takes

I have noticed over the past few years that quite a lot of people I meet want to do something on their own, yet very few actually end up doing it. Every person is waiting for something or the other to fall into place before taking the leap. For a majority of them it is a matter of getting that necessary "experience" which will make them ready for it.

This post is dedicated to such people; my attempt at providing them an idea of what might be needed to get "there" (I use 'might' because I don't believe there is a formula for it). Here are some of the qualities that I have felt are useful to have as an entrepreneur:

Patience

As I have discovered, almost as soon as I began, starting up is "a waiting game". Every entrepreneur acknowledges that hard work is essential to bring the best-laid plans to fruition. But as soon as you start, the first lesson that becomes apparent is that it takes time to achieve goals, even short-term ones. You have to put in the hard work without running out of patience.

Impatience !!

Paradoxical as it may sound, some impatience is also needed in entrepreneurship. Having well-thought out goals, deadlines & deliverables to meet goals is a must for any organization, and startups are no exception. Moving into a world where you are your own boss is a transition which can lead to a loss of discipline in setting and adhering to deadlines. A streak of impatience will serve you in good stead against falling into such a trap.

Perseverance

As an entrepreneur, you will make a lot of decisions and define tasks which require significant time and effort. Without fail, you will also continuously question yourself whether you made the right decision, especially when things are not going well. A certain amount of perseverance will prevent you from abandoning tasks in a hurry without giving them due consideration. It is important to stick with your decisions and persevere with them towards their logical conclusions, whether good or bad.

Self-confidence

Well, this is kinda obvious, isn't it? :) I think it will be quite difficult without this. Enough said.

Risk taking without fear of failure

Risk becomes an integral part of life once you turn an entrepreneur. There have been very few successful companies that have been built without some underlying risk at their inception. One should be bold enough to dream big, take a few risks and face the consequences. The lessons learnt from unplanned events in a startup are probably the ones that will make you successful. As Vinod Khosla elegantly puts it here, entrepreneurs should dare to dream dreams, and be foolish enough to try to make them come true.

Situational Awareness

This is a rather elusive trait which helps bring perspective in our lives. Everyone gets these moments of insight when they truly understand how what they are doing at that instant fits into the big picture of life. Almost without fail, startups begin with grand ideas and possibly exaggerated assessments of self-worth. Entrepreneurs need to actively cultivate intuition, or discipline depending on the kind of person you are, to seek situational awareness for their startups. You need to periodically assess your work, the environment in which it is done, the economic realities prevalent, trends in the business you are in and any & every source of information you can lay hands on that you consider important to better understand how your company is faring. And don't be afraid to discover unpleasant things.

Execution is everything

Cliched, but true. Period.


I don't claim to have found the magic ingredients for an entrepreneur; heck these are only a few attributes I am trying to build in my company. It is very likely I have missed a bunch of important things; I will leave them for the spirit of discovery in each one of us :)

Lastly, I don't think it is necessary for any one person to have all of these traits. But I do feel that a startup should have people who collectively possess all of these traits. Obviously there are a variety of reasons for you to turn entrepreneur. But once you have made the leap, a wonderful variety of experiences unfold which WILL surprise you :)

Looking forward to seeing you on this side of the entrepreneurial fence. Good luck.