A pilot empiric study on usual tests for assessing

Entrepreneurial skills

Master students:
Gabriela-Georgiana DUMITRACHE and Laila ALFARRA
with Ştefania ARMĂŞELU and Lorena-Denisa PLOSCARU, year I, BEE

Scientific supervisor:
Professor Cezar SCARLAT, Dr EngSc

Abstract

Nowadays, amid significant development of entrepreneurial studies at all levels of formal

education as well as long live learning training programmes, entrepreneurial studies are
overcoming the traditional area of study and include studies on corporate entrepreneurship,
social entrepreneurship, university entrepreneurship, and alike.

In Entrepreneurial studies, a particular attention is paid to different methods and techniques to

assess the entrepreneurial skills, mostly of young people, even youngsters – as early as
possible, before starting their real businesses. The advantage is twofold: identify business
talents and evaluate the chances to succeed in their future ventures.

This paper presents the results of an experimental study conducted by a research group on
four tests for assessing the entrepreneurial skills. The four tests were selected based on their
accessibility (free online access). The aim was to complete a comparative analysis, with two
specific objectives: (i) assessment of the coherence of the test results and (ii) comparative
assessment of the test’s performance characteristics.

The conclusions of this explorative study are promising base for in-depth, expanded studies
(more tests and more subjects) and serving as guidelines for test users and even test designers
– by developing a set of recommendations.

Key-words: Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial studies, Entrepreneurial skills,

Entrepreneurship tests, Empiric study

Introduction

[se scrie dupa partea de Results si Discussion]

… (o parafrazare a primelor doua paragrafe din Abstract)

Gabi

In today’s brutal reality of entrepreneurial development, a helping hand is being given by the
studies made in this domain which lay a foundation for tomorrow’s potential entrepreneurs,
along with training courses that hope to spark interest for this jungle of an environment and
come in different shapes or forms.

While conducting research in Entrepreneurial studies, a serious amount of focus is drawn to

the many techniques to assess one’s entrepreneurial skills as early as possible. The pros here
go both ways: by using these tools, business talents are identified and chances to succeed in
future ventures are being evaluated.

Un paragraf despre importanta acestor testari

Gabi

In our eternal journey of self discovery and continuous improvement at an individual level,
we strive to achieve, to accumulate, to gather, to add to our foundation. But, in order to value
this addition and incoming knowledge, I strive to believe it’s highly significant to assess our
current level - to assess what we are in order to have a clearer view of who and what we can
become. True potential will be revealed by itself, step by step, once we get a hang of what
we’re working with. Once we know the quantity and quality of the raw material at hand…
basically: ourselves. And how can we do that? Using tests. Testing ourselves, our limits, our
knowledge, our way to be.

Speaking from a more concrete point of view, using not one, but multiple tests to assess our
level brings in clarity. It shines a light on our potential and it underlines features that maybe
have been left behind. The more tests you take, the more accurate the representation is. First
test is the starting point, the second one either confirms or denies the results found in the
previous one and from the third one you start believing the results from the other ones. The
next ones only help you recognize your strong points, and, if you’re “testing” yourself as
much as it is needed, it can help you identify the gaps: what stands between you and your
goal? What’s the different thing you could do to guarantee success? What’s left to help you
jump off your seat and take action?

In the end… aren’t we the result of the tests we’ve been through during this life?

O prezentare a structurii lucrarii (vezi mai jos)

Gabi

Let us take you in a short journey with us, where we conduct an experiment on
entrepreneurship tests circulating on the internet. We have opinions (lots), and we’ll gladly
present them step by step, test by test, inconvenience by inconvenience, chapter by chapter.
We’ll assess the results along with the test characteristics and even come up with
recommendations.

Literature review
[pentru inceput poate lipsi]

Methodology

The research methodology included both secondary (literature survey) and primary research
(administration of the selected tests). The research process involved the following phases:
documentation (literature survey as well as investigation on existing freely available, online
tests for assessing the entrepreneurial skills) followed by selection of the tests to be
administered; pilot administration of the selected tests by a group of similarly trained
individuals to be tested; processing of the outputs of the tests and analysis of the results,
according to the research objectives:

(i) Assessment of the coherence of the test results;

(ii) Comparative assessment of the test’s performance characteristics.

Results

Mai multe argumente pentru alegerea celor patru teste (limba, site-ul, ...)

...

Gabi

I tend to assume that the criteria my colleagues had before selecting a test was the same as
mine, without consulting each other beforehand: as accurate as it can be, not very time-
consuming, interesting questions, reasonable grading method, fun to take.

Table 1. The selected tests for assessing the entrepreneurial skills

Crt. no. The test Author / producer Availability [website] Comments

1. Human Metrics HumanMetrics Inc http://
Entrepreneur www.humanmetrics.com/
entrepreneur
2. Entrepreneur Scan Martijn Driessen https://
entrepreneurscan.com/amp/
3. Which Andrew Gazdecki
entrepreneur are https://www.biznessapps.co
you quiz m/blog/which-
entrepreneur-are-you-quiz/
4. Entrepreneurial https://www.bdc.ca/en/
Potential Self- articles-tools/entrepreneur-
Assessment toolkit/business-
assessments/
entrepreneurial-potential-
self-assessment
Laila

Crt. Author /
The test Availability [website] Comments
no. producer
1. Human HumanMetrics http://www.humanmetrics.com/ I find It very interesting
Metrics Inc entrepreneur that the site has
Entrepreneur distinguished 9 different
entrepreneur types. And
also that it evaluates
your entrepreneur type
based on your
personality
characteristics,
entrepreneur type, the
size and kinds of
businesses favorable
from your personality
fit standpoint, along
with tips on how to
succeed in business .It
takes only 6 minutes to
complete , which makes
it less stressing.
2. Entrepreneur Martijn https://entrepreneurscan.com/amp/ I really liked the site,
Scan Driessen the color they used the
language they used is
not very sophisticated,
and I like that there is
no time limit.
3. Which Andrew https://www.biznessapps.com/blog/which- The questions are
entrepreneur Gazdecki entrepreneur-are-you-quiz/ interesting. It
are you quiz questionns you from
another point of view.
It only has 10 questions
which makes it easy and
less stresfull. Every
question has a picture
which makes it less
boring and more
interesting.

4. Entrepreneurial https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/ In my opinion about the

Potential Self- entrepreneur-toolkit/business-assessments/ test, I enjoyed the
Assessment entrepreneurial-potential-self-assessment questions, they seemed
really straight forward
and easy to understand,
 but I think it is not
enough to indicate the
potential of a person as
an entrepreneur.
 

1. Human Metrics HumanMetrics Inc http://

Entrepreneur www.humanmetrics.com/
entrepreneur

Gabi
In my opinion, the test was interesting and entertaining to take. Nonetheless, what is worth mentioning is the fact that the
accuracy of it is pretty low. I am glad I „fell” into the Large Scale Businesses, as it offered me a boost of confidence in my
abilities and another perspective towards my entrepreneurial incline, or so to say. The test questions seem to touch a more
idealistic side, not something practical and „hands-on” or punctual.

The answer range looks like this:

I feel like for these questions, whenever you have the „uncertain” option and choose it, the accuracy of the final answer will
be lower and lower and I feel that it is good to avoid choosing it, even though I might be a little bit guilty myself. In the end,
I am pleased with the result and it has given me a little push in being more prompt with what I actually want and what I want
to pursue.

I find the approach of writing the answers “yes/no” in lowercase and uppercase funny, as to show the enthusiasm and
assurance of the answer.

I would say that, between all the tests, this would be the third on my scale, even though it was Laila’s favorite. Of course, the
results can go more in depth, if you’re willing to pay for the Premium Version.

Stefania
The results:
This test reveals the scale of business fitting you most. The free version only says which one it is, on a scale from small to
large, with businesses alike. For me, I got a Medium, which puts me at the middle with businesses like Artisan, Franchisee,
Executive Manager, Innovative Manager.
The premium version can show your type.

The test:
It was short, took maximum 6 minutes to finish all the 28 questions. The website is not as nice as the other one, having a lot
of advertisements on the page (up and on the side), that can take your attention. The buttons are colored green or red if the
answers are more positive or negative.
Strengths/weakness:

● Strengths: short, easy to mark and finish, on a single page, appropriate questions
● Weakness: the website with ads, the results imprecise and vague
 2. Entrepreneur Scan Martijn Driessen https://
entrepreneurscan.com/
amp/

Gabi
By far, this is the most complex test out of all three, so I would say it wins first place.

It is differently organized even from the beginning, letting you choose the group that you belong to, narrowing it down more
and more as you go along.

At first, we see these options:

After choosing “Entrepreneur, employees or students”, we receive an even smaller categorization:

After choosing a category, we get into the less pleasant part: creating your account and filling in your data - this is where
people usually give up, and I do understand the reason behind. I mean, why would you go this extra mile if you have so
many alternatives on the market (and by market, I mean the World Wide Web) that do not require any authentication?

Alright, suppose we create our account. The first question makes you evaluate yourself, before knowing the actual results.
They ask you to estimate your entrepreneur index, making it interesting to observe at the end.

Moving on, they even give you some tips before starting the test per se, which is an added bonus, because who doesn’t like
to know some insights or instructions beforehand, right?

Afterwards, they have plenty of questions, letting you know the progress or if you miss any question. They do have 2
different algorithms of evaluation. One lets you draw the cursor wherever you might find fit, having two opposite poles to
juggle between “I totally disagree” and “I totally agree”, while the other asks you to sort the options, giving you instructions
again:

Another great particularity is the existence of quotes throughout the test - of course, entrepreneurship-related quotes.
The questions are a mix between idealistic, general ones and some more specific ones, that kind of try to put you in a certain
scenario, by making you imagine how things would go.

As for the negative part, the test takes, on average, 16 minutes to complete, which might be a no-go for the category of
people that we talked a little bit about earlier, because it might seem a long time to complete and the questions are plenty.

The next aspect that can be, again, both positive and negative, is the fact that you have the possibility to draw the cursor
wherever you want, by choosing a very specific place on the axis, it’s just the fact that you do not know that exact value, you
can only estimate.

Moreover, having a look at the results - the amount of detail they put in is insane! Very well structured and detailed. They
tell you about what you could do for your development, they let you know about your traits and capabilities and they show
where you score on the axis, compared to other people that took the test. Of course, they even show you a comparison of the
indexes: the one you estimated at first and the one you actually got. Brilliant! All of these are nicely organized in a PDF that
is sent to your email address.

Let’s have a look:

In conclusion, all of the three tests were very interesting to take and even more interesting to observe and compare, from my
point of view. It really shows how much thought the team put in, the research they did beforehand and amount of work they
dedicated to creating the tests.

Stefania
I enjoyed doing this test because it was user friendly, having arrows and dots as instruments to mark the answers. It also
gave an update as I completed the quiz, letting me know how much I fulfilled and how much I have left. The cute part was
that it sent 2 random quotes and motivational images about entrepreneurship skills in-between pages.
The results of the test surprised me, because I do not feel the same way about my strongest score, because I like to keep a
good balance over my finance, but that does not apply to managing the finances of a potential business. About the risks, I
can say that once I got older and got in touch with the adult life and all the responsibilities that come with it, I got more
afraid of getting "all-in" in just any kind of opportunity that comes. Even so, I feel I am active in many activities in both my
professional and my personal life.

About this test I can add the negative fact that it requires an account and more data to receive the full report about the results.
The positive side is about the nice and user friendly platform, that made me choose it among other test available online. The
questions were well structured, with some control and verification ones, as they should be.

3. Which entrepreneur are Andrew Gazdecki

you quiz https://www.biznessapps.c
om/blog/which-
entrepreneur-are-you-quiz/

Gabi
Right from the start, I can say that this test was most playful of them all, being very fun to do and having a different, more
“teenage-y” feel to it, with captures from cartoons and colored frames.

This test is actually more of a quiz, than a test in itself, which is also being stated on the main page. It is easy to see that this
quiz has been thought out and created by people in their 20’s, I would dare to estimate. It has that specific vibe to it - which
is something I don’t say from a pejorative perspective at all, it’s just an observation that comes from understanding some
aspects and traits of a generation. This is what is being transmitted from the way it is written, the jokes, the colors, the
questions.

Speaking about questions: there are 10 questions that are more past-orientated, let’s say. They try to analyze your past and
parcourse, having only a few hypothetical questions that ask you what you would do in certain situations. Of course, we
already know that that is a clear indicator of low accuracy.

A nice touch to this quiz is that they present you the types of Entrepreneurs right from the start, not only mentioning them,
but adding some traits that define the typology. We have:

1. The Genius

2. The Hustler

3. The Survivor

4. The Visionary

5. The Decision Maker

What is interesting is that, even though presenting the typologies beforehand adds a nice touch, it can also represent a

downside, if I were to be the devil’s advocate (as I always am). Why am I saying that? Well, seeing the typologies before,

you know what to expect and you involuntarily set some expectations yourself, mentally resonating with a certain type. This

can be wishful thinking and it automatically adds a dose of subjectivism, possibly influencing your answers to get to the

desired outcome - which is definitely lack of accuracy… again.

A pleasant surprise is that, after you answer, you get one of the Entrepreneur types with a personality that encompasses that

type or is representative for it. So this makes up for “divulging” the typologies before. It’s almost like a Kinder Surprise.

As for my result, I got: The Genius. And, coincidence or not, the representative personality for this is… Mark Zuckerberg!

Exactly the person I chose to discuss about in one of my assignments as being one of the people that define the syntagm

“Successful Entrepreneur”. Is it really a coincidence? Food for thought. I need to mention that the test was taken after

completing the assignment, on different days.

Anyway, back to analyzing how the result is communicated to the person that takes the quiz. They let you know your type,

the public person/ well-recognized Entrepreneur and a little bit more information about the type. For example, I got: “You

have the Zuckerberg gene!

From an early age, Zuckerberg was seen as a whiz kid. As he got older, he achieved a reputation as a programming prodigy.
Zuckerberg launched Facebook from Harvard's dormitory rooms on February 4, 2004. He is now one of the world’s
youngest billionaires.

What does this say about you?

Above all you are innovative. You don’t just use things, you invent them. Your are self-driven and always want to learn
something new. It’s time to get “wired-in” and start working on those big ideas!”

Well, well, well. I must say I am a little bit flattered. I’m far from being a programming prodigy, but, HEY! At least I got the
Genius gene. Now I need to find it.

Overall, it was a very light quiz, but it has brought a smile to my face and it was a really pleasant experience to take it. Need
I say that I wish it was longer?

4. Entrepreneurial https://www.bdc.ca/
Potential Self- en/articles-tools/
Assessment entrepreneur-toolkit/
business-assessments/
entrepreneurial-
potential-self-
assessment

Gabi
In my opinion, this test would score 2nd, out of the 3 tests.
At first, we can agree on the fact that the test is very intuitive and user-friendly. Moreover, it does take a few minutes to
complete, which can be both an advantage and a disadvantage.
Why?
Well, in the era of speed, burnout and procrastination, we are inclined to choose things that do not require a lot of time and
effort from our side - so, from that perspective, this test is a winner.
On the opposite side of things, if you are looking for an in-depth, accurate representation of your profile as an Entrepreneur,
this might not be the best option out there, even though the results are nicely organized into categories and explained. What
makes it less accurate is actually the selection of questions itself, as they kind of put you in an entrepreneur’s shoes without
having the actual experience of entrepreneurship behind, just like Laila said. What you can do is only imagine the
experience, and that wouldn’t reveal the complete truth, as the thought behind might be based on wishful thinking and it
would definitely be subjective.

Stefania
The results:
Our results are displayed with blue horizontal bands. A red vertical band shows the mean score of entrepreneurs.
After taking this test, I was surprised to see my scores are below average at almost all points, apart from one (Self-
confidence), so, my general profile marked a score of only 146, below the average obtained by entrepreneurs.

The test:
I enjoyed the easy and user-friendly online platform available to take this test, as it consisted in 6 sections, where we have to
mark the level of agreement of each sentence, from 1 to 5. It took almost 5 minutes to finish everything, as it was easy to
read and complete. It had questions regarding all psychological aspects of an entrepreneur mindset (motivation, aptitudes,
attitudes).
Strengths/weakness:

● Strengths: easy to finish and to understand, short, clear, fast results, user friendly, good graphic representation
● Weakness: basic, not in detail, boredom in marking the same type of question

… (Table 2).

Laila

Table 2. The main characteristics of the selected tests for assessing the entrepreneurial skills

Characteristics
Crt.
The test Number of Average
no. … …
questions duration [min]
1. Human Metrics 28 6 min
Entrepreneur
2. Entrepreneur 60 20 min
Scan
3. Which 10 4 min
entrepreneur are
you quiz
4. Entrepreneurial 54 15 min
Potential Self-
Assessment

Alte caracteristici din categoria “interesante pentru user” – de exemplu: numar maxim de
utilizatori simultan, modul (forma si plaja) in care se ofera rezultatele – seci sau cu
recomandari, …

Puse mai sus, in prima parte

Alte caracteristici din categoria “mai tehnice” – de exemplu: sistem cu invatare, adaptat la
tipul de utilizator, …
Puse mai sus, in prima parte

… (Table 3).

Table 3. The results of assessing the entrepreneurial skills of three users, by four tests

Crt. Results of testing obtained by users1

The test Comments2
no. User G User L User S
1. Human Metrics Large Scale Large Scale Medium Scale
Entrepreneur
2. Entrepreneur 50.1 index 54.6 index 70.8
Scan
3. Which The Genius The Decision
entrepreneur are Maker
you quiz.
4. Entrepreneurial 170 154 147
Potential Self-
Assessment
Comments3

Descrieri mai pe larg si explicatii daca este cazul …

Puse mai sus, sub forma de text

... (Table 4).

Table 4. Comparative analysis of the tests for assessing the entrepreneurial skills – by their
advantages and disadvantages or limitations – as they were perceived by the pilot users

Crt. Comparative analysis

The test
no. Advantages Disadvantages
1. Human Metrics • The questions are straight • Difficult to put yourself in
Entrepreneur forward the situation, unless you’ve
• Can helps users assess their worked in a team before.
fit to run a business, from • Having only 28 questions,
personality preferences perspective. it is quite difficult to establish your
• Is based on assessment of entrepreneur type
personality preferences.
• Takes 6 minutes to
complete.
2. Entrepreneur • There is no right or wrong • The scan takes 16 minutes
Scan answer. on average, It is quiet long
• The site is very well made, • This scan is not a value
and nice displayed. judgment.
• The quotes are very • Some of the questions,

1 For confidentiality reasons, only initials are provided.

2 General comments about each test (common feature observed by all persons tested).
3 Comments about the convergence and coherence of the test results reported by each person tested.
 inspiring keeps repeating
• The design of the page is • The answer to the question
very nice put together doesn’t allow the respondent to
• Good graphic representation choose an accurate answer, the
• No ads scale doesn’t offer the possibility
to response properly according to
the intensity of the opinion.
3. Which • The test has only 10 • It seems kind of childish
entrepreneur are questions • It has no accuracy due to
you quiz. • Good graphic representation the weak graded intensity scales of
• Easy language used and fast response
result
4. Entrepreneurial • Straight forward • Not enough to indicate the
Potential Self- • Easy to understand potential of a person as an
Assessment entrepreneur.
• Doesn’t take into consideration
about the young ones who doesn’t
have the required experience yet

...

Discussion

- despre teste – implicatii

Gabi

Let’s have a short discussion about how to approach these tests. I fully believe it is
mandatory to be as honest as possible with yourself and have a cold head when choosing an
answer. For an accurate result, it is imperative we make a clear distinction between how we
would want to be like and how we really are at the moment of the assessment.

Another worth mentioning aspect is to start with no expectations, otherwise - you set yourself
up for failure. What we are looking for is an accurate representation of the entity we currently
are. How could we get better and strive for the greatness we are meant to achieve, if we are
self sabotaging by not being objective when answering? Ta-da!

- despre subiecti – tot despre teste!

Gabi

I find it recommendable to repeat the tests at any given period. You would be surprised how
fast things and perspectives change. I insist that the approach should always follow the same
concept: brand new, with no expectations and a huge dose of objectivism. If possible, give it
time to forget the questions and your go-to answers. Detach yourself from the previous
answers and results. We are reborn everyday, so we can be a different person everyday. We
are being given the possibility to start brand new and choose the option to be a better us,
another version of us that we want. For that it is compulsory to treat everything in your way
with fresh eyes, each time.

Recommendations

A basic set of recommendations for the tests users:

▪ A They should analyse the findings.

Gabi

We could definitely classify how good the tests were and we could make a top, but that is not
the point. What is important is that you go through as many as possible. You learn something
even from bad tests. If not, at least they make you laugh.

What is memorable is that the experiences you go through shape you in a way or another and
they are being added to your portfolio of experiences and knowledge. If you do not go
through it, you can’t assess it. You can’t take anything from it. You’ll never know if it is a
good or a bad test until you take it. Even if you’re listening to someone’s advice or reading
someone else’s review. Because, since we are all so different and everything is relative, a bad
test for me can be a blessing to another, as it might help that individual have a revelation of
some sort. Don’t avoid it. Go through it, find out what it has to say and then correlate it to
your feeling about it. See if you resonate with it. Make it work for you somehow.

▪ The test should have several highly distinct groups of users. (3 to 4 users from each
category )
Gabi
In order for a test to be relevant, it has to be “put in work”. If people don’t use it, it’s
not doing any favors to anyone. If only one age or gender category is doing it, it’s
doing some favors to some. The quality and relevance of a test has the potential to
grow with the number of people who do it. And I am saying “it has the potential”,
because it is not a given; sometimes a bad test will stay a bad test, no matter how
many people do it.

A basic set of recommendations for the tests designers:

▪ Open-ended preference explanation: Ask users to explain why they like a design.

Gabi

From the standpoint of a test designer, I consider that the most crucial aspect and the actual
starting point for a test should be inclusiveness. The accuracy comes from inclusiveness. A
test designer should put themselves in the shoes of each category they would like their test to
appeal to. The quality of the test comes from the quality of the questions. The quality of the
questions come from their ability to put the user in a scenario where he is “forced” or better
yet, inspired to think and think, make connections and reach a conclusion.
As a test designer, you can even assess the quality of your test using direct feedback from the
user by adding questions with regards to its quality in the list of questions.

▪ Open word choice: Ask users to list 3 to 5 words that describe the design.

▪ Provide users with a list of terms and ask them to pick the words which best describe
the design.

Conclusions

Un paragraf despre atingerea obiectivelor (i) si (ii) …

Gabi

What I can admit, going through these tests is the fact that I have received a push that feels
nice. And I am saying this because, until now, I haven’t been curious to take any tests with
regards to my entrepreneurship tests. Maybe because I was afraid of the result. Maybe
because my definition of an entrepreneur was being held by my anxious thoughts at a very,
very high peak, far, far away from my soul and way of being. I was under the impression that
I could never associate myself with this term. My overthinker mind had built a strong,
impenetrable wall between the definition of Gabriela Dumitrache and the one of
entrepreneurship. The test results have convinced me that most of the thoughts are negative
and fake scenarios made up by my anxious mind.

Even if the results weren’t necessarily the same for all the tests, they did help me give shape
to a thought of where I can be situated in this area. They weren’t exactly coherent by
themselves, but, when coming together, they made me a conclusion that definitely just made
sense to me and to me only.

Un paragraf despre principala limitare a studiului (numar limitat de teste si de utilizatori) si

despre posibilele directii de extindere a studiului – in ambele directii.

Gabi

Wanting to provide a short, but rigorous and as accurate as possible view over
entrepreneurship tests circulating around the internet, we chose four tests that we
experimented and analyzed.

Un paragraf despre importanta studiului …

Gabi
With this study, we tried to bring forward the beauty of diversity and the multitude of results
for a single person after taking four tests. It is really interesting to observe the contrasting
results for each one of us, from test to test, where in one test we are being classified as having
great entrepreneurship skills, but falling short in another test, with almost contradicting
results.

This could be only a starting point for a lot more complex study and discussion. Imagine how
much more aggressive can the difference between test results can become. Very interesting to
observe!

... orice mai credeti ca este util, necesar si/sau potrivit ...

Gabi

It is baffling and encouraging to see how much lies in so little. How much information you
can extract from a condensed experiment. How multifaceted a test that treats the same subject
everywhere can be. I feel that this journey is only at the beginning, as more and more
perimeters which were in the dark until now, come to light, word by word, question by
question, thought by thought.

References

1. https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/entrepreneur-toolkit/business-assessments/
entrepreneurial-potential-self-assessment
2. http://www.humanmetrics.com/entrepreneur
3. https://entrepreneurscan.com/amp/
4. https://www.biznessapps.com/blog/which-entrepreneur-are-you-quiz/