Course: Entrepreneur

Question: Are Entrepreneur born or made?

Matriculation No: SON/2017/2018/175

It’s an age-old question and it’s high time we say the truth without giving regards to bigotry.

From lessons learnt from class so far coupled with my past years of blogging experience. Here is
my view.

One significant subject to consider is ‘entrepreneur trait and entrepreneur’s success.’

The core of entrepreneur’s trait is risk. In fact, entrepreneur is known for taking risk.

However, the determinant of entrepreneur’s result is how his actions are taken.

A critical and unbiased consideration of these two facts will unravel the mystery of
entrepreneurship revealing if entrepreneur is be made or born.

Entrepreneur trait, as speculated by some researchers should be an innate object from perspective
of hereditary, it’s an inward drive. An innate should indeed be innate. This implies that it can
only be known or identified when it drives certain actions. It’s a tendency to do certain thing and
it determines actions being taken.

However, reverse is the case with success. Success is the result of action taken. It is measured by
the positive outcome or result of an individual’s actions taken.

In other words, how an individual channels his action determines the rate of successfulness or
failure. How actions are taken show if such actions will fail or succeed.

Trait of an entrepreneur encompasses persistence, tenacity, strong belief, facing uncertainty,

proclivity to start business and most importantly appetite for risk.

As good and important as these traits are, here is the catch.

Unfortunately, since trait is an innate drive that determines tendencies of an entrepreneur starting
a business, facing uncertainty, ambiguity and taking risk, it has little to do with outcome of
actions taken
Since, it has little or maybe nothing to do with hereditary, I can say that entrepreneur’s success is
an interaction of his trait [irrespective of the quantity of risk tolerance] and environment
[education, mentorship and experience]

Nobody is born with trait to be a failure or success. Failure or success is determined by how
individual actions are being channeled. No actions can be taken without inward drive.

This shows that all of us have a bit of gene in us that make us do something though the extent of
the actions greatly differ even among so called born entrepreneurs. The nature of individual gene
and the extent of actions taken determine a true entrepreneur. Extent may include the degree of
persistent, tenacity, obstinacy in the face of uncertainty, and likelihood to take risk.

Of course, an entrepreneur is identified by a risk tolerance gene.

Some personalities are more favorable for entrepreneur, it determines the result of his actions if
properly channeled [where experience, motivation, role modeling, education take role]

To say that entrepreneur gene determines how much money an entrepreneur can make is an
absurdity and bigotry of highest order. In fact, it’s a divisive thought!

The personality and uniqueness of an individual lies in his gene. This is scientifically proven.

Gene makes one to take certain action, action that another person might not take when in same
situation. This is what makes us different. An entrepreneur, whose action is traced to his gene,
can take risk in the face of adversity, ambiguity and uncertainty. In a situation when a normal
individual would give up. He sticks to his belief that he can make it, he’s therefore seen as a
unique individual. This is what makes him. He’s wired that way. This leans credence and
credibility to beliefs of many researchers today that, entrepreneurs are born.

Nothing can be done to gene. It is core part of an individual. It’s not ever going to be possible to
take someone to class and teach them to be risk tolerance. It’s not just possible. An explanation
of importance of risk can be given to someone but such individual can’t be convinced to take
risk.

From this perspective of gene, I’ll say an entrepreneur is born.

However, that is not all therein. It’s more than just having gene of an entrepreneur.

As earlier stated, entrepreneur’s success and trait are different entity. Yet, there’s relation
between the two.

Trait refers to tendencies of an entrepreneur to take risk, face uncertainty and difficulty. But this
does not mean he has tendencies to succeed.
Therefore since success of an entrepreneur isn’t judged by the traits but by the way of his action,
it means that entrepreneurship can be taught and done better.

This statement is not complete without ‘done better’.

It connotes that, entrepreneurship are taught to improve those that have the trait and also that the
least genetically likely entrepreneur can be taught.

One thing to consider about risk is that, risk may be put on a continuum ranging from zero-risk
tolerance to crazy risk-tolerance trait that maybe considered daredevils.

But does it really start from zero tolerance? At one point in life, we all face certain risk.

The truth is, one does not need to be a daredevil to be regarded or identified as entrepreneur or
successful. We all agree that entrepreneur should be risk tolerant. However, even the risk should
be respected. One thing I think of is that, when to take risk and whether risk should be taken
should be core skill of an entrepreneur. Unfortunately, nobody is born with such skill, no, not
even so called born entrepreneur, it has to be learnt.

And looking at it again, today, I’ll say entrepreneur gain more recognition from their success
than their gene. Mark Zuckerberg is known to be the giant of social media presently, from his
story, he is not a daredevil, yet he’s considered one of the great entrepreneurs today.

Entrepreneur success is gene + environment [where environment = motivation, experience,

mentorship, education, etc].

Education or other environmental factor may help individual channel his actions properly and be
successful. This means that entrepreneurship is beyond having trait, it evolves around how
actions are taken. One thing is to have tendency, it’s another thing to do it well.

Trait is half of what it takes, how actions are taken is the other half.

I conclusively say in my mind that entrepreneur identity encompasses trait and environment. It
should be 50, 50.

Trait is half of what it takes to be known and have confidence of entrepreneur. Natural ability to
do something

Influence from environment is another half. Entity that influence how actions driven by traits are
taken

This is traced to the theory of two sided coin.

If it is 50, 50, then 50 + 50 will be 100%.

The degree of entrepreneur trait is determined by risk tolerance.

0 risk-tolerance [which is not likely] + 50% influence from environment [such as education] =
50% chance of success as entrepreneur.

The truth is that, no one at a particular point in time has all skills or trait there is to be an
entrepreneur. One moves across the line of continuum.

With this knowledge from two side of a coin, I’ll say entrepreneur can be made or learn.

However, the success rate may be poor as individual has zero-tolerance risk. An individual with
10% risk tolerance + 50% environment is getting better.

One with 50% trait + 0 environment may hardly make it.

Perhaps, either should never be zero to truly be an entrepreneur.

Nonetheless, I’ll say entrepreneur is both born and made.