February 14, 2010 at 10:00Qualities of a Successful Entrepreneur - Inspiration (5/11)
- Transfer
Translation of the fifth post of Mark Saster from a series about the qualities of a successful entrepreneur (previous posts: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ).
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This is part of my new series of posts on what makes an entrepreneur successful . I originally published them on VentureHacks , one of my favorite sites for entrepreneurs. If you have not been there, then it’s worth a visit.
The series began with a conversation about what I consider the most important quality: perseverance . The following posts were devoted to practical acumen , ability to change course and stability .
Many asked about the difference between perseverance and resilience. For me, perseverance is a push forward. These are the things that you push through, where you never perceive "no" as an answer. Stability, on the other hand, is the ability to withstand blows while continuing the battle. Want to understand what sustainability is? Watch the awesome 46 second video from Rocky . Everyone who has already been an entrepreneur will tell you that at the very beginning, success essentially boils down to pure survival. Much also depends on good luck and the right choice of the moment.
It is known that to be stubborn up to stubbornness, not possessing a practical grip that allows you to notice when market conditions begin to change and “change course” in time is the way to defeat. In my opinion, this is why the PalmPilot missed the point when there was a trend towards the development of E-mail, and RIM (BlackBerry) tracked this trend. In turn, Blackberry missed the development of the Internet and after so many years still has a mediocre browser.
So persistence alone is not enough. All the qualities of an entrepreneur must play together.
Toby Murdoch told an interesting story in the comments on the last post (spelling errors fixed):
Many entrepreneurs struggle with their failures. Many are offended by investors or circumstances. Some “give in to a couple” and react like Toby did. I bet that his leadership skills have helped a business angel realize that Toby deserves support.
Some blog readers also noted that a “change of course” can be destructive for company employees. The same applies to the permanent hiring and dismissal - a natural “flow” at an early stage of business. It's true. But here comes the next quality of a successful entrepreneur.
5. Inspiration / Leadership. As an entrepreneur, you constantly feel a lack of resources. You want to hire a cool development team, but you haven't gotten enough investment yet. You want to take a key marketer from Google, but he gets good money, which you have nothing to oppose. You want to find someone to introduce you to Ron Conway , so that he overshadowed your company with his impeccable reputation, making an investment as a business angel. For most entrepreneurs, these are almost impossible things. And stubbornness alone cannot be taken here. In fact, artless persistence is often annoying, and with the addition of inspiration and charm can be motivating.
Entrepreneurs often show me slides with the names of people who are going to join their team as soon as the investment is received. I usually jokingly answer: "Maybe you are not an entrepreneur?" It always makes people startle.
I say: “Listen, almost every successful entrepreneur whom I have seen has an“ extraordinary ”quality that people celebrate. It is clear that those whom you want to see in your team are sitting in their warm places in world-famous companies and are not at all going to take risks, joining you. But if they happen to meet the right entrepreneur, they will think: “I need to go after him. In my opinion, the case will be a huge success, and I do not want to miss this opportunity. "
These are the best entrepreneurs. Next to them you seem to become infected. They are passionate about the matter, confident in their future success and actively strive to achieve it. Of course, they also have doubts when they look at themselves in the mirror alone, but in the office this cannot be said for them. You should know that for every slide with people who will join you after attracting investments, I will find an example of a company that really assembled a team with no more funds in your bank account than you .
When I watch presentations, I often find myself thinking: “Can this person inspire others?” Inspiration is very important not even because it is necessary for recruiting a team and leadership in it, but for the clients to work with you, although from a position of common sense they should not do this. There is less money in your bank account than is enough for 6 months, and the product is still far from ready. But customers have the confidence that you will break through, even if they themselves are not aware of this. TechCrunch will cover you. They will not, because you so far represent more of a myth than reality. But they feel your trajectory. Their sixth sense says that you will successfully overcome all difficulties.
Inspiration is essential in business. And in life. Watch the movie Invictus - you’ll understand what I mean.
_________
Previous translations from this series:
1. Upset .
2. Practical grip .
3. The ability to change course .
4. Sustainability .
__________
This is part of my new series of posts on what makes an entrepreneur successful . I originally published them on VentureHacks , one of my favorite sites for entrepreneurs. If you have not been there, then it’s worth a visit.
The series began with a conversation about what I consider the most important quality: perseverance . The following posts were devoted to practical acumen , ability to change course and stability .
Many asked about the difference between perseverance and resilience. For me, perseverance is a push forward. These are the things that you push through, where you never perceive "no" as an answer. Stability, on the other hand, is the ability to withstand blows while continuing the battle. Want to understand what sustainability is? Watch the awesome 46 second video from Rocky . Everyone who has already been an entrepreneur will tell you that at the very beginning, success essentially boils down to pure survival. Much also depends on good luck and the right choice of the moment.
It is known that to be stubborn up to stubbornness, not possessing a practical grip that allows you to notice when market conditions begin to change and “change course” in time is the way to defeat. In my opinion, this is why the PalmPilot missed the point when there was a trend towards the development of E-mail, and RIM (BlackBerry) tracked this trend. In turn, Blackberry missed the development of the Internet and after so many years still has a mediocre browser.
So persistence alone is not enough. All the qualities of an entrepreneur must play together.
Toby Murdoch told an interesting story in the comments on the last post (spelling errors fixed):
... my last start-up received initial investment from a mega-successful business angel ... [but] they did not invest in the third tranche ... By that time I had already spent the small savings that I had to continue my activity, but with this investor, who I was going to get out of business, but still stuck around, it was extremely difficult for us to get investments from someone else. We sat in a puddle. My imagination began to paint pictures of how I could not pay my mortgage debt and my wife and children would have to move out.
When I heard the bad news, I tried to remind myself that hanging in the negative never helps and that in fact, any blow to the head provides motivation to evade it. Therefore, instead of being frightened and shrinking until the end of that meeting, I gave a “full swing” and populated it with stories about our progress and the direction we are moving. He ... said that his fund will actively help us get the next round of financing.
... Soon after, the angel returned, in a larger round, without any trenches, with new investors wishing to get into the business. As a result, everything ended with the successful sale of the company ... so that entrepreneurship is not just cool, it's brutal. You need to push forward, regardless of the blows to the head ... such failures are just a natural part of the process, and the key element here is only how you react to them.
Many entrepreneurs struggle with their failures. Many are offended by investors or circumstances. Some “give in to a couple” and react like Toby did. I bet that his leadership skills have helped a business angel realize that Toby deserves support.
Some blog readers also noted that a “change of course” can be destructive for company employees. The same applies to the permanent hiring and dismissal - a natural “flow” at an early stage of business. It's true. But here comes the next quality of a successful entrepreneur.
5. Inspiration / Leadership. As an entrepreneur, you constantly feel a lack of resources. You want to hire a cool development team, but you haven't gotten enough investment yet. You want to take a key marketer from Google, but he gets good money, which you have nothing to oppose. You want to find someone to introduce you to Ron Conway , so that he overshadowed your company with his impeccable reputation, making an investment as a business angel. For most entrepreneurs, these are almost impossible things. And stubbornness alone cannot be taken here. In fact, artless persistence is often annoying, and with the addition of inspiration and charm can be motivating.
Entrepreneurs often show me slides with the names of people who are going to join their team as soon as the investment is received. I usually jokingly answer: "Maybe you are not an entrepreneur?" It always makes people startle.
I say: “Listen, almost every successful entrepreneur whom I have seen has an“ extraordinary ”quality that people celebrate. It is clear that those whom you want to see in your team are sitting in their warm places in world-famous companies and are not at all going to take risks, joining you. But if they happen to meet the right entrepreneur, they will think: “I need to go after him. In my opinion, the case will be a huge success, and I do not want to miss this opportunity. "These are the best entrepreneurs. Next to them you seem to become infected. They are passionate about the matter, confident in their future success and actively strive to achieve it. Of course, they also have doubts when they look at themselves in the mirror alone, but in the office this cannot be said for them. You should know that for every slide with people who will join you after attracting investments, I will find an example of a company that really assembled a team with no more funds in your bank account than you .
When I watch presentations, I often find myself thinking: “Can this person inspire others?” Inspiration is very important not even because it is necessary for recruiting a team and leadership in it, but for the clients to work with you, although from a position of common sense they should not do this. There is less money in your bank account than is enough for 6 months, and the product is still far from ready. But customers have the confidence that you will break through, even if they themselves are not aware of this. TechCrunch will cover you. They will not, because you so far represent more of a myth than reality. But they feel your trajectory. Their sixth sense says that you will successfully overcome all difficulties.
Inspiration is essential in business. And in life. Watch the movie Invictus - you’ll understand what I mean.
_________
Previous translations from this series:
1. Upset .
2. Practical grip .
3. The ability to change course .
4. Sustainability .