Thoughts on Entrepreneurship from Glenn Robinson

Entrepreneurship is by no means a walk in the park, A few years ago, when I was working in Chile, I met a budding young entrepreneur (let’s call him Eduardo) at one of the country’s top incubators. When I asked him to tell me a bit about himself, he opened up by saying “A few years ago, I developed a product and started a company. We did well for a while, but hit some snags, the company failed, and I lost my car.” He continued, “I got a job, earned some money, then had another idea, and started another company.”

Entrepreneurship

You get an idea, make some money, and go bankrupt. What do you do? You start another company (Image Credits: Getty Images)

“How did that go, Eduardo?”, I queried. He said, “We did quite well for a while, our customer base and revenue grew nicely, but suddenly we found ourselves on the edge of the Valley of Death, could not raise the required funding to continue our growth curve, the company failed, and I lost my car and my house.” “What are you doing now?” I asked. “I am starting my third company!”

Entrepreneurship deals with a lot of obstacles

Entrepreneurship

The life of an entrepreneur is one full of obstacles (Image Credits: Entrepreneur)

This is essentially the life of an entrepreneur. No one said it would be easy. Entrepreneurship is not a career; it is a mindset. And it is not for everyone. Entrepreneurship is a dynamic mix of confidence, resilience, patience and intestinal fortitude. All this is in the face of what might end up in disappointment and failure. A lifestyle of entrepreneurship can be a lonely road. It is quite often fraught with tremendous pressure from family and peers to “get a real job, earn some money and be responsible.”

Preparing for a life of Entrepreneurship

So, you may be asking, what should I do to prepare myself for this? Well, for starters, you can surround yourself with people who raise you up instead of dragging you down. FInd people who can see the vision you have for your business and want you to be successful. This is critical for a life of entrepreneurship. As one of my mentors says, “each of us needs all of us, and all of us needs each of us.

You can’t create a business by yourself

You need to seek out two types of mentors. The first is the type who cares for your personal development and growth as a leader. The second mentor is the one who provides advice, counsel and “know-how” in anything related to the development and growth of your business.

Entrepreneurship

Surrounding yourself with people who want to see you succeed is important if you’re an entrepreneur (Image Credits: LightStart)

Remember that YOU are a critical asset to your business, and “self-care” is a key component to keeping you healthy and focused on reaching your goals. A robust, well-rounded, holistic “know-how network” helps you maintain balance.  If you get the right people involved, lever their “IQ points” and listen to wise counsel, this adventure can be tremendously satisfying and rewarding.

Glenn Robinson has over four decades in senior management in public, private and non-profit sectors, as well as being a seasoned entrepreneur. He holds Managing Director positions at both the IC2 Institute, The University of Texas at Austin and XLr8 Andhra Pradesh Technology Business Accelerator, and is also Senior Training Consultant to the DHI Business Acceleration Program (BizAP) in Bhutan. He is a consultant to the National Science Foundation, Washington, DC, has held Board of Director positions with various technology incubators, start-ups, and non-profits, and is a Charter Member of TiE Amaravati, a not-for-profit network of Indian investors and entrepreneurs. He is a frequent keynote speaker, providing insight based on his extensive experience building successful innovation ecosystems around the globe. He also delivered the opening keynote speech at Disrupt Asia 2018.

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