Assignment Cover Sheet

Bachelor of Business (Talented)

Student Name Mach Dang Tri

Student Number 31211026373
Subject Name Academic English 14
Lecturer Ms. Dao Thi Hong Hanh
Title of Assignment Individual Essay Draft
Length 1213 words
Due Date 25/03/2022
Date Submitted 21/03/2022

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work or from any other source except where due acknowledgement is made in the assignment.
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Signature: ………Mach Dang Tri……………………………………………………………….

Note: An examiner or lecturer/tutor has the right not to mark this assignment if the above declaration has not been
signed)
TOPIC: Are the most successful entrepreneurs born/ made? Critically
discuss.

Introduction:

This paper will show that most successful entrepreneurs are nurtured rather than spontaneously
conceived. A number of reasons and evidence will be given to support this view. Firstly,
innovation is one of the prerequisites that any business person must have. Secondly, one of the
key factorsand a key factor in creating not only entrepreneurs but also successful people in
other professions is knowledge which they have to accumulate over a long period of time rather
than being born already. Lastly, no entrepreneur can grow without experience. A
counterargument is that there is a gene that determines whether or not a person is an
entrepreneur. However, the response is the true ability and motivation of a truly passionate
person can surpass genes

Body:

Firstly, one of the factors that determine the success of an entrepreneur is innovation, which
does not come naturally but comes from opportunity and how the entrepreneur seizes it. A new
product, technology, source, and market are all examples of innovation (Mariotti and Glakin,
2010). Innovation improves the nature, originality, and creative thinking process of a brand.
Learning how to be creative may help a startup company reach the peak of success. By
supporting organizations in keeping up with current trends, entrepreneurial innovation may open
doors to a number of opportunities. For instance, the founder of Adidas - Adi Dassler, what did
that almost no shoemaker at the time had thought of was he listened to what athletes really
wanted, what pain spots might be addressed, and since then he's been constantly innovating
products to meet their needs. Since then, Adidas has grown into an international brand known
for high-quality athleticwear (Cote, 2022). After all, the ability to innovate does not come
naturally; it is cultivated via opportunity. When there is a problem, there are opportunities

Secondly, for a truly successful entrepreneur, knowledge is never enough, financial statement
knowledge is not learned naturally; it is gained via study. When entrepreneurs are attempting to
make decisions regarding future development stages, they should endeavor to understand the
larger picture and steer all ships in the same direction — knowledge. One thing is certain: if
you're thirsty for knowledge and consistently seek to improve your own and your team's abilities,
your company will thrive (Bhatia, 2017). The lack of knowledge may be fatal because then you
will not be sure about what you are doing and will do in the future, and besides, you will always
doubt yourself and not dare to move forward and that will negatively affect your business. An
example of the importance of knowledge for success is Jan Koum - who is known as the creator
of Whatsapp, although born into a poor family, he still pursues computer knowledge. By the age
of 18, he had a great background in computers and in 1997 he worked for Yahoo! as an
infrastructure engineer. And after buying a new phone he came up with an idea to create an app
where people can text each other regardless of what country they are in, and from there
Whatsapp was created. It is thanks to his technological knowledge that he was able to be so
successful and from there we can better understand why knowledge is so important to
entrepreneurs ('' 10 most successful entrepreneurs that started with little to nothing'', 2019)

Thirdly, when it comes to a successful entrepreneur, experience is something they never lack,
and that is exactly extracted from posteriority. Experience has a crucial influence in practicing
entrepreneurs' capacity to detect and act on entrepreneurial possibilities, as well as the
structure and manage new companies, according to research on entrepreneurial learning
(Politis and Gabrielsson, 2005). It has been shown that young entrepreneurs tend to focus too
much on one position, such as product development, and overlook other important aspects.
Entrepreneurs with more experience, on the other hand, are better at managing their workload.
Another research, led by Kathryn Shaw of Stanford Graduate School of Business, looked at
data from 2.8 million small enterprises to evaluate success rates depending on prior experience.
As you might imagine, success rates for entrepreneurs with prior business experience were
significantly higher (MacBride, 2014) Experience accumulated from failures or lessons learned
in the process of starting a business, experiences that help entrepreneurs become more
confident in their own decisions. Almost all excellent things are the result of trial and error; many
of the medications we use today would not exist if scientists hadn't tried and failed several times
(Heyward, 2022).

Argument against your position:

Another view is that what makes entrepreneurs successful has more to do with genes than self-
development. The research found that 37 to 48 percent of the probability of becoming an
entrepreneur is hereditary (Heitzman, 2015). Children who grow up in households with
entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are far more likely to become entrepreneurs themselves since
they are not socialized to be afraid of taking chances (Shahin, 2020).

Response to counterargument:

However, a response to this is a person's true passion and ability can go far beyond what genes
dictate. Being born with a proclivity for entrepreneurship does not guarantee that you will
become an entrepreneur, much less a successful one (Hudson, 2015). It's crucial to remember
that just because you have a reduced genetic chance of starting a company doesn't imply you
won't be able to or that your company will fail. Indeed, if you have a lot of passion and practice,
you may be more likely to succeed than someone who is genetically predisposed to starting a
business, especially if they lack real-world experience. (''Are entrepreneurs born -- or made?
Research says 'Born.' but there's a catch.'', 2018).
Conclusion:

This essay has clearly shown that successful entrepreneurs are nurtured made rather than
born. It's worth noting in the debate over whether entrepreneurs are born or created that,
regardless of your proclivity for starting a firm, the ultimate deciding factor for success is the
amount of experience you get in an entrepreneurial capacity. Inherent characteristics do not
guarantee success in any career. Rather, it is attained by personal experiences, knowledge,
and innovation. The same is true in business. Entrepreneurs aren't born with it; they've made a
series of sound business and personal decisions. As a result, rather than being born,
entrepreneurs are made.

Reference list:

Mariotti, S., & Glackin, C. (2010). Entrepreneurship: Starting and operating a small business.
Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Cote, C. (2022, January 20). 4 entrepreneur success stories to learn from. Business Insights
Blog. https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/successful-entrepreneur-stories

10 most successful entrepreneurs that started with little to nothing. (2019, August 18). University
of the People. https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/10-successful-entrepreneurs-started-with-nothing/

MacBride, E. (2014, September 30). Kathryn Shaw: Entrepreneurship requires practice,

practice, practice. Stanford Graduate School of Business.
https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/kathryn-shaw-entrepreneurship-requires-practice-
practice-practice

Heyward, C. (2022, February 2). Are Successful Entrepreneurs Born Or

Made? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/02/02/are-successful-
entrepreneurs-born-or-made/?sh=3e4bad9d4b44

Heitzman, A. (2015, January 27). How entrepreneurship might be genetic. Inc.com.

https://www.inc.com/adam-heitzman/how-entrepreneurship-might-be-genetic.html

Hudson, P. (2015, March 19). The entrepreneur gene: Why some people are born to start
companies. Elite Daily. https://www.elitedaily.com/money/entrepreneurship/entrepreneur-gene-
people-born-start-companies/968625

Are entrepreneurs born -- or made? Research says 'Born.' but there's a catch. (2018, January
29). Entrepreneur. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/308089
Shahin, T. (2020, October 28). Are successful entrepreneurs born or made? CEO Entrepreneur.
https://ceoentrepreneur.com/are-successful-entrepreneurs-born-or-made/

Bhatia, S. (2017, January 24). 6 reasons why entrepreneurs should focus on knowledge
management. Business 2 Community. https://www.business2community.com/cloud-
computing/6-reasons-entrepreneurs-focus-knowledge-management-01761794

Politis, D., & Gabrielsson, J. (2005, January 1). Exploring the role of experience in the process
of entrepreneurial learning. Academia.edu - Share research.
https://www.academia.edu/6088213/Exploring_the_Role_of_Experience_in_the_Process_of_En
trepreneurial_Learning