Comments on: 5 qualities every entrepreneur should have

By: Honey18

Honey18 — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 07:47:00 +0000

resourceful and persevering

By: Spend a day with a startup

Spend a day with a startup — Wed, 18 May 2011 12:56:05 +0000

[...] talk a lot about entrepreneurship, passion, and being inspired. And recently I wrote about how to be an entrepreneur with a job. [...]

By: andrewwatson

andrewwatson — Tue, 10 May 2011 12:18:00 +0000

All in is easier said than done. When you started your first company you were a single guy with nothing to lose, right? When you started your second you had an exit under your belt.

looking back, of course I should have started a company when I first graduated from college in 1998 but if I could go back and change the past I’d change a lot more than just that…

By: Jeff Hilimire

Jeff Hilimire — Tue, 10 May 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Agree, self motivation is an absolute must for an entrepreneur. You can’t coast or hide like you can at an established company. It’s one of the things I like most about small companies, actually. There’s no hiding!

By: Shaun J Boyce

Shaun J Boyce — Mon, 09 May 2011 18:12:00 +0000

@jeffhilimire:disqus ::The ability to self-motivate is key. Especially with a start up, there is often no one else to delegate the work.. to.

By: Second place is no goal

Second place is no goal — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 13:02:37 +0000

[...] written this past year about the 5 qualities every entrepreneur should have. Check out the first [...]

By: pfreet

pfreet — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:29:47 +0000

If you are single, I would agree completely. Go all-in. But if not, is it fair to put your spouse and children's financial security at risk? No, of course not. Keep your day job or find consulting work to pay the bills while you get launched.

BTW, we talk about this and other topics at our weekly “Bootstrapping Circle” at ATDC.

By: Jeff Hilimire

Jeff Hilimire — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:32:44 +0000

“All in”. That's great Phil, its what I tell enterpreneurs is the most important thing for their startup. Having a side job while trying to start something makes an almost impossible task infinitely more difficult.

By: pfreet

pfreet — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:06:59 +0000

I don't know who started the idea that you should raise money from "Friends and family", but I am guessing it was a VC, not an experienced entrepreneur. It is the wrong strategy. I don't think an entrepreneur should ever take money from family. And only from friends they are willing to lose. VCs want you "all in". Then if things get dicey, they truly own you and you'll take whatever deals they offer to protect your friends and family.

I say bootstrap the startup and, only if you must, take money from strangers.

Good traits of an entrepreneur: realism, patience and ability to change

By: Jeff Hilimire

Jeff Hilimire — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:54:30 +0000

Paul, it's true that these are qualities that an investor wants to see in an entrepreneur, that's a good qualifier for this list. And you're family take is obviously spot on. I was always too scared of the awkward Thanksgiving dinners to take money from family and instead applied the “how many credit cards can I juggle at one time” method of funding. God bless whoever invented the 0% interest for six months strategy. I was flipping money from card to card like a short-order cook.

I still feel, as an entrepreneur, that these qualities certainly helped me along the way. I could add some of course, but I'd be curious your take on which of these you feel are less important from the entrepreneur perspective (vs. the investor perspective).