7 TRAITS EVERY ENTREPRENEUR SHOULD HAVE

Course: Entrepreneurship (W301)

Prepared for:
DR. A.K.M. Saiful Majid
Professor, IBA
Course Instructor



Prepared by:
Saleh Ahmed
Roll: ZR-46, Sec: A
Batch: 20th




Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka
28 August 2014



What if you weren't born with Jobs' creative genius or Gates' iron will? There's good news for
the rest of us: Entrepreneurs can be guided to success by harnessing crucial attributes.
Scholars, business experts and venture capitalists say entrepreneurs can emerge at any stage of
life and from any realm, and they come in all personality types and with any grade point average.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, you don't have to be Type A--that is, an overachieving,
hyperorganized workaholic--or an extrovert to launch a successful business. "Type A's don't take
the risks to be entrepreneurs," says Elana Fine, managing director of the University of
Maryland's Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, adding that the same goes for straight-A
students. "Very often it's C students who become entrepreneurs."
However, the best entrepreneurs do share a collection of characteristics, from tenacity to the
ability to tolerate risk, that are crucial to a successful venture.

TENACITY:
This trait is known by many names--perseverance, persistence, determination, commitment,
resilience--but it's really just old-fashioned stubborn-ness. You have to be able to live with
uncertainty and push through a crucible of obstacles for years on end. When failure happens, you
have to start all over again.
"Tenacity is No. 1," says Mike Colwell, who runs Plains Angels, an Iowa angel investor forum,
and the accelerator Business Innovation Zone for the Greater Des Moines Partnership. "So much
of entrepreneurship is dealing with repeated failure. It happens many times each week."

PASSION:
A startup founder is often driven by the quest for deeper purpose beyond the sheer mechanics of
operating a business. My mission for my startup, Yes Man Watches, is to empower people to
consider the most valuable asset in their lives: time. I rise early every morning because I dont

want to waste my day. If you have passion for your startup, this will drive you to turn your idea
into a reality. Without that missing spark, you'll lack the necessary motivation to put in all the
early mornings and late nights to get your business off the ground.
TOLERANCE TO AMBIGUITY:
This classic trait is the definition of risk-taking. It is the ability to withstand the fear of
uncertainty and potential failure. This is where the ultimate entrepreneurial test takes place, on
the mental battlefield. You can go with the fear and quit, or push through it. While many would
feel powerless in the face of adversity, the entrepreneur looks at the situation and knows he has
some control over the outcome.

VISION:
Entrepreneurs have a curiosity that identifies overlooked niches and puts them at the forefront of
innovation and emerging fields. They imagine another world and have the ability to
communicate that vision effectively to investors, customers and staff. One of the defining traits
of entrepreneurship is the ability to spot an opportunity and imagine something where others
haven't. You have to be several steps ahead of the market.

SELF-BELIEF:
Self-confidence is a key entrepreneurial trait. You have to be crazy-sure your product is
something the world needs and that you can deliver it to overcome the naysayers, who will
always deride what the majority has yet to validate.
Researchers define this trait as task-specific confidence. It's a belief that turns the risk
proposition around--you've conducted enough research and have enough confidence that you can
get the job done that you ameliorate the risk. You have to have a lot of self-confidence. Be
willing to take a risk, but be conservative.


FLEXIBILITY:
Flexibility that allows you to respond to changing tastes and market conditions is essential.
Being an entrepreneur involves a learning process. If youre not willing to learn, think about
leaving the startup world. You need to be able to soak in everything and anything you can, just
like a sponge. If you have an idea you'd like to turn into a reality, go for it. You'll never know
the outcome if you don't try. This sort of flexibility is of utmost importance for entrepreneurship.

RULE BREAKING:
Doing what the majority isn't doing is the nature of entrepreneurship. So in a way a business
startup is rule breaking as very few people opt to being an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs exist to
defy conventional wisdom. They always try to think out of the box and to cross boundaries.

Launching a business takes guts. It takes focus, money, time and there is no guarantee. If risk
leaves someone fearful, this is not the path for him/her. Conversely, if he/she crave adventure
and is the ultimate dreamer, they will find true happiness in taking this wild ride.