Is entrepreneurship an innate talent or learned skill?

It is a commonly held view that entrepreneurs are born, not made that what leads someone to
become a successful entrepreneur has more to do with their personality and innate qualities than
anything learned through formal education.

The biographies of entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson, Alan Sugar and Theo Paphitis, all of
whom left school at 16 to make their own way in the world of business, add to the impression
that entrepreneurs are born not made. The idea that certain entrepreneurial traits such as being
able to spot opportunities, think differently and take risks may be inherent has even led to a
whole new area of genetic research.

There isnt one single type of entrepreneur, just as there isnt one single type of business
opportunity. The talent of many entrepreneurs lies in their ability to align their skills and their
passion with potential opportunities and, as the next stage on, to develop the skills and
attributes they need to maximize those opportunities.

A survey last year by Ernst & Young of 685 entrepreneurial leaders found that experience is key
to people becoming entrepreneurs. Fifty eight per cent of the respondents were transitioned
entrepreneurs who had previously been employees. Many cited their experience in a corporate
environment as an important training ground for their subsequent entrepreneurial career.

As well as experiences gained through work, another type of experience relevant to

entrepreneurial success is the wider set of life skills which span both our personal and
professional lives. A recent blog by Nischala Murthy Kaushik highlighted the 33 Life Lessons
No School Really Taught Me, touching on skills such as; how to deal with change, handling
failure, learning when and how to say no, how to ask for help, and mastering the art of
prioritization. All valuable lessons for any entrepreneur.

It is rightly said that genetics play a large part in determining how likely you are to be a good
entrepreneur. People have been contemplating for ages whether or not peoples genetic
composition affects their career choices, and it turns out it most certainly does. According to
Entrepreneur, a recent study conducted by Scott Shane, a professor of entrepreneurship at Case
Western Reserve University and author of Born Entrepreneurs, Born Leaders: How Your Genes
Affect Your Work Life, believes your genetics have a huge impact on entrepreneurial talent. He
says:
If you ask people whether they think theres such a thing as a born entrepreneur, most people
say yes. Theres a widespread belief that there is some underlying, innate component to
entrepreneurship, and we wanted to see if there was some literal truth to it. Shane and fellow
researchers studied the rates of entrepreneurship in hundreds of pairs of twins both identical
(sharing 100 percent of the same genes) and fraternal (sharing only 50 percent of the same
genes). What they found surprised even them: According to the data they collected, identical
twins have much higher rates of shared entrepreneurial tendencies. Moreover, they determined
the tendency to become an entrepreneur is not taught 30-40 percent of the time, but is instead
innate. This mean some people are born entrepreneurs and others just aren't.
It doesnt mean, however, being born genetically-inclined toward entrepreneurship will
guarantee becoming an entrepreneur much less a successful entrepreneur. It also doesnt mean
if youre not genetically-inclined toward entrepreneurship you wont become a successful
entrepreneur. The truth is no one is ever born an entrepreneur; no matter how genetically-inclined
you may be to become one, you still have to choose to become one. You still need to put in the
work and choose the struggle as a lifestyle. Most importantly, you need to have the right
character traits. Otherwise, it's impossible to become a successful entrepreneur and, let's be
honest, you can't be called an entrepreneur if you're not a successful one; it's part of the
definition. Just as someone who can't perform a successful surgery isn't a surgeon, a person
who can't successfully run a business isn't an entrepreneur.

All entrepreneurs have a relatively similar set of character traits. Theyre egocentric, passionate,
inclined to take risks which, fun fact, some would argue is due to a naturally lower dopamine
level in the brain enjoy delving into their work, and they're often a bit stubborn, competitive,
analytical and inquisitive. These traits allow entrepreneurs to accomplish tasks in an efficient
manner, and to do so while under a lot of stress and pressure.

Skillsets make for a good entrepreneur

Lets study which skillsets make for a good entrepreneur, and whether or not they can be taught.

High Intellect
Some people are naturally intelligent and have high IQ scores, while others struggle in this area
(with a whole lot of people in between). It is not saying you need to be genius, to be successful
as an entrepreneur, as many geniuses are very book smart, but not street smart. But, intelligence
certainly goes a long way. But, to be fair, people are not born intelligent, they are most-typically
taught the information required to accumulate intelligence.

Visionary and Good Instincts

Anybody can be smart about the current status quo. But, very few people can actually see
outside of the box to imagine new and innovative ways of solving current world problems. You
typically cannot teach imagination. You are either imaginative or you are not.

Passion, Energy and Excitement

Nothing helps move a startup along like a good fire in the belly. Especially, if that energy is
focused around a product that an entrepreneur is passionate about. Passion is particularly
important for exciting prospective employees, customers, partners and investors. You either have
passion or can instill excitement, or you do not.

Persistence and Drive

Entrepreneurs need a succeed despite the hurdles mentality and drive. Most startups have a lot
of challenging periods in their growth, and if you are not persistent enough to slog through the
mud, you are never going to succeed or survive. You cant teach persistence.

Fearless and Calculated Risk Taker

You cant teach someone not to be scared, or not to boldly go where others have not gone before.
Yes, you can teach a person how to assess or minimize risks.

Good Communicator, Listener, Salesperson, Team Builder and Motivator

Entrepreneurs need to do a good job of communicating their vision, listening to input from
others, selling through the vision to employees/partners/investors, building teams and motivating
employees. For the most part, many of these skills are basic business skills which can be taught.

Domain Experience in the Industry

The most successful entrepreneurs have had some exposure to their industry, typically from a
previous work experience, where they had on-the-job training that prepared them for their big
venture.

Conclusion
Entrepreneurship is a way of life that enables people to take charge of their own destinies, and
the realization that their success will only come through their own initiatives and efforts.
Entrepreneurship cannot, therefore, grow in a society fond of blaming others and looking for
scapegoats. Up to this point, it is clear that there is no single set of characteristics and skills that
will guarantee new venture success. Some of these appear to be in-born personality that serves as
a foundation, enabling the entrepreneur to bear-up under the long burden involved in building a
new enterprise. These are, however, strictly personal characteristics that are not trainable, nor
necessarily derived from experience. These building blocks must exist for a founders' other
strengths to generate any footing.

Unlike in-born characteristics, there are tools used in the application of these skills, such as
opportunity identification, evaluation and communication, and consequently they can be learned
from others and continually improved. Lastly there are natural talents that may exist in an
entrepreneur that can be sharpened to raise the likelihood of venture success. The most important
of these talents appears to be leadership capability and the strength to go it alone, as well as
commitment to the venture and integrity. Each of these capabilities can be learned from the
examples of others and then reinforced by a variety of support mechanisms. It is therefore worth
noting that leaders of successful enterprises have a dual composition, consisting of natural
elements that predispose them to be attracted to and bear up under the strains of the process. As
well, other skills and talents are required for them to drive the process to a success; these can be
learned and/or improved through training and experience.
There are no shortcuts to the greatest things in life; no matter how genetically-inclined you are
for greatness, you still need to make yourself great. No one is ever born great. What it really all
comes down to is the fact certain genetic characteristics make those who have them more likely
to try certain things and to think in a certain manner. When these different ways of thinking
interact with the outside world, they're going to each interpret the world differently. What
genetics does is map out how likely your mind is to process information in a certain manner
how fast you make connections, what sorts of connections likely to be make and how your ego
interacts and affects the interpretations of those connections.