Six Myths to Dispel Among Young Entrepreneurs Every year, it seems that more young people want to become entrepreneurs. This inspires me on one level, but I’m also concerned that entrepreneurship is too often portrayed through rose-colored glasses. Many young entrepreneurs have expectations that – while hopeful – fail to recognize just how much sweat goes into sweat equity. My intention here is not to quell the dreams of aspiring entrepreneurs; it’s actually quite the contrary. A major part of succeeding as an entrepreneur is preparing yourself mentally for the hardships to come, being at least a little frightened of what’s to come, and staying resilient. Here are some of the main misconceptions that young people hold with respect to entrepreneurship:
Growth hacking will lead to rapid success. For Mark Zuckerberg, it only took two years to hit 50 million users. But few companies achieve that kind of lift. Not all entrepreneurs are/or will be like Brian Chesky, Mark Zuckerburg or Bill Gates. Although there are scores of young entrepreneurs whose companies have become immediate successes, there are numerous others who have worked for years to make their breakthrough. Jeff Bezos has remarked that “All overnight success takes about 10 years.” The majority of entrepreneurs are not geniuses who happen to have the right product in front of the right people at the right time. At least one of these variables is off-base and it takes work to figure that out and pivot (often several times).
Dropping out of college is a reasonable thing to do. Alright, so Bill Gates dropped out of college and went on to establish a business with global acclaim. And he wasn’t alone either. There's Evan Williams from Twitter, Larry Ellison from Oracle, Travis Lakanick from Uber, and plenty of others. Don’t drop out of college. According to the Startup Genome Report, 11 in 12 startups fail within three years. You may fail. You may succeed. But there’s a decent chance you’ll have to supplement your income with a profession before you’re running a sustainable company. Most successful entrepreneurs have college degrees. And if you’re enough of a unicorn to have venture capital and steady six-figure monthly sales, speak with people with a different perspective than your own before handing in your papers.
Great startups are built on younger talent. A common misconception among young people is that if a promising startup employs smart, young people it is more likely to be successful. Of course, all businesses need intelligent people. They don’t necessarily need to be young. While young people offer fresh energy – and often strong technical skills – there is some level of experience and discipline that seasoned employees can bring to the table. For any organization, solid management makes growth much easier to manage. Several successful Silicon Valley startups benefited from bringing in experienced colleagues to help guide their team. Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google, for instance, hired Eric Schmidt to provide the company with a different kind of leadership.
Entrepreneurship means tech startups. Although it is true that tech startups have had tremendous significance in recent decades, entrepreneurship does not mean starting a tech company. This appears to be a common assumption, especially in Silicon Valley (it’s in the name). Most news outlets have focused on tech startups at the expense of other entrepreneurial pursuits. In fact, tech startups have a higher failure rate than other ventures. This makes sense, given that such companies often require substantial time before ever achieving proof of concept. If you do start a tech company, understand that your success will likely stem from efforts in areas that have nothing to do with technology. How are you building an impactful business with a strong narrative, serving real customers?
The best ideas make the best companies. All entrepreneurial ventures are based on an idea. What I look for in a business is whether the team executing on that vision has the passion and skill to weather the challenges of entrepreneurship. How will they develop strategy, or determine when to press on and when to pivot, or build relationships? Ideas alone are not enough. A successful entrepreneur must have the necessary skills to transform a concept into something that benefits their customers. And they will need the leadership and drive not only to find a team but to nurture, push and provide for their team along the way.
---Adam Jiwan, Entrepreneur and Global investing Professional