Note: I wrote this as a final paper for a class named Information and Entrepreneurship Management (I thought it was more apt when named Technology Entrepreneurship), somewhat casually about the message gleaned and general take away of what we had learned.
Entrepreneurship is TOUGH. It’s tiring. It’s constantly changing. It requires persistence and perseverance. It’s not for everyone, and I can imagine there are only truly a certain subset of people with certain personalities that can sustain the ability to be an entrepreneur day in, day out.
When I think of entrepreneurship, I think of launching satellites. The amount of energy that is required to propel a rocket out of the gravitational pull of earth is like the momentum required of an entrepreneur to push against the status quo and to go against the grain each and every day. The launch is one of the most energy intense points of the journey, but a rocket still must have enough fuel to get to the right height away from the earth. In the same way, an entrepreneur must have the drive, the motivation, and the internal (and hopefully external, if available) resources to keep on pushing.
Even when a satellite is launched into the right position for orbit, a successful orbit is nothing more than continually falling forward toward the earth at a constant speed, without ever succumbing back to a disastrous gravitational pull that would likely incinerate the satellite upon speedy entry back into the atmosphere. Running a business is essentially the same: a company or a business or a product may become established at some point, but keeping a company alive requires keeping it on a steady enough course to divert it from crashing and burning.
After studying the stories and the characters of all sorts of successful entrepreneurs throughout history, many different properties and characteristics emerge: burning passion, immutable drive, an insatiable hunger to keep on pushing, and true gumption. Success comes to people from a range of backgrounds whether they come from nothing or from some certain amount of privilege – of course, the better stories are the ones about the underdogs. A similar thread runs through all the stories – the protagonist never gives up. Perseverance in the face of constant waves of failure does not deter those ambitious enough to conquer those waves for greater heights. Being able to swallow the pain and humiliation of a full defeat is not a small or easy thing; being able to do so again and again takes almost superhuman qualities to forge forward.
Forging forward is the key: time goes on, business partners come and go, money comes and money disappears. Through the wax and wane of fighting for and keeping market share, an entrepreneur needs to constantly renew and reinvent herself to stay afloat. True innovators and pioneers are able to forge forward because they do not concern themselves with looking backward to assure themselves of rewards earned or gained. The way forward is to contribute without stopping, to continue to sow seeds and water them every day without being overly concerned about hoarding the harvest.
I used to be anxious about the things I couldn’t control in my life, and I believe it’s a common fear for most people. We all don’t like what we don’t know and can’t know about the unknown, and mathematically we’d all like to hedge our bets and take the path of least resistance. I was lucky that in my first real job in my career I worked closely with my boss, a fiery Korean-Canadian who seemed like any pushy salesman at first glance, but as you peel away the layers, discover that he has a savvy for sniffing out incentives in negotiations and has the bizarre creativity that can shed new light on a problem. I watched closely as he practiced classic strategies from Sun Tzu’s Art of War in negotiations, sales, and even during just simple interactions during dinners. Business is people, and I admired the way my mentor was able to gauge what makes people tick in particular situations, and what each person can offer or take.
Throughout this class I have been inspired by the tireless work done by countless entrepreneurs, regardless of their intent. Some are out to make millions and billions, and some are out to change the world. In the end it doesn’t matter too much what their source of energy originates, because the fire they have inside to keep going takes them to either of those conclusions, if not both. Failures are a certainty in the lifetime of an entrepreneur – success is being able to outlive all the failures and live long enough to see the crest of success emerge. I have never considered myself born to ever desire or want to be an entrepreneur; but after my character had been hammered and forged for years by my mentor, after academic consideration of the journeys of many successful entrepreneurs, after seeing that failure is not necessarily a shameful, embarrassing thing but rather is only a stepping stone, I’ve come to two conclusions.
Firstly, my conception that entrepreneurs are born, not made, has been totally turned around. My viewpoint used to be that it took a certain type of person to be able to make it as a business owner, but I don’t fully agree with this view any longer. Entrepreneurs can certainly be made, with a little or a lot of effort. I’ve learnt to be aggressive when necessary. I’ve learnt to step back, to make compromises when necessary to move forward. I’ve learnt to speak up, more so because I am already a very soft spoken Chinese girl. I’ve learnt to spend the same amount of time either worrying or celebrating, and once those emotions are done it’s time to keep moving and keep working. I’ve learnt that many people are willing to help you with the goodness of their heart if you are convincing enough, without even any tangible reward in return. I’ve learnt that most people out to cheat you in the first place, with experience, can be spotted a mile away. I’ve learnt that mistakes are made, people screw up, but time moves on. Failure is important, but only significant if converted into true wisdom from experience. Most importantly, I’ve learnt to listen as much as is within my current ability to.
Secondly, I’ve come to conclude that success is easy enough, given that: (a) you have some level of book and street smarts and (b) you have enough time. Some people may not have all the book smarts but are good enough with people to form teams of formidable academic and industry professionals. Some people may not have the street smarts but have amazing intellectual capacity to truly create and innovate, such as the tech titans of our time. But as human beings, time is constantly working against us. As Arnold Schwarzenegger was once quoted as a comment on being able to work harder: “Sleep faster”. I’ll try that approach, and cross my fingers that medical science will advance far enough to give me a biological boost for some extra laps around the track of the business world.
This class has given me a plethora of perspectives on what it takes to jump into the fray and play with all the sharks in bloody waters. An entrepreneur sits on the top right corner of a two by two grid of innovativeness by risk-taking: high in innovativeness, and high in risk-taking. A dreamer is high in innovativeness but low in risk-taking – and seeing the difference between a dreamer and entrepreneur reminds me of this particular two by two.
I’ve always been in the overlap where I dither: I trust my mind, but not my heart. But with the right inspiration and faith to move forward, plus a sprinkle of wisdom and experience when necessary, really helps move decision making from dithering to strategizing. And to build upon that, not just to strategize, but to really take action where it counts.
I feel assured and confident that when the time comes, when the water is just right, and even if the sharks are circling all around me, I will make that leap and I will find that I have all the right preparation to, at the very least, stay afloat – but I will aim to emerge in better waters, surf higher waves, and conquer failure with flair. I’m willing to give it at least one shot, if not many more.
