In today’s world, successful entrepreneurs have become real Rock stars. Their companies and products reflect their unique personalities and their ‘from 0 to 1’ stories encourage other people to leave their comfort zone and start their own movements. They often appear on the cover of magazines, are interviewed regularly by the media, and have thousands of social media followers around the world. While none of them followed the same path, all these successful startup founders share some common traits that set them apart from the rest and helped them achieve their goals. Here you have some of the key ingredients of their homemade recipe:
1. Nick d’Aloisio: Learn through trial-and-error
“I think some entrepreneurs focus too much on the idea, but not enough on the planned implementation. There are so many resources available online that the primary goal of someone wanting to succeed should be to teach themselves all of the necessary skills e.g. programming, business development, design, marketing etc. Be fearless and don’t be afraid of failure. There is no better way to learn than through trial-and-error.”
2. Evan Spiegel: Find something you aren’t willing to sell
“I am now convinced that the fastest way to figure out if you are doing something truly important to you is to have someone offer you a bunch of money to part with it. The best thing is that, whether you decide to take the money or not, you’ll learn a lot about yourself in the process. If you sell, you will know immediately that it wasn’t the right dream anyways. And if you don’t sell you’re probably onto something. Maybe you have the beginning of something meaningful […] Find something you aren’t willing to sell.” USC Marshall Undergraduate Commencement
3. Brian Wong: Ask a stranger for advice
“Don’t hard sell anyone, especially when first reaching out. Ease into the conversation with a relaxed and friendly tone, maintaining an openness about your intentions. The other person will come up with their own ideas on how they want to work with you and get excited about the prospects.
At the end of the day, the worst-case scenario is you learn something new. So go ahead – ask a stranger for advice.”
How a Cold Email Can Land You Funding4. Ben Chestnut: Stay
“It’s hard. And just when you think it can’t get any worse, it does. There’ll be times when it just keeps getting worse and worse and worse. Meanwhile, everyone else around you is getting better and happier and richer. You’ll feel like the only one who hasn’t figured it out yet. You’re sinking, your life sucks, and your business isn’t going anywhere. Oh yeah, and you’re not getting any younger, either. And just when you think about finally throwing in the towel, and saying “f* all this!” that right there is the test that all founders are eventually faced with: when things get too hard, you decide to stay, or you decide to quit. My advice is this: Before you decide, look at all those great, successful businesses that inspired you to start your own. They stayed.” DoesWhat interview
5. Caterina Fake: Make time less precious
“Make time less precious. We are way too efficient, making use of every hour, every minute. When you were a kid, didn’t you just spend hours poking sticks in the mud, climbing trees and sitting in them, looking at shells and seaweed that washed up on the shoreline? Time was not precious then, we weren’t trying to stuff an accomplishment into every minute every day, we had time for thoughts and feelings. That was good! Any day spent that way was a day of joy and order. There was so much time.”
Featured photo credit: TechCrunch via flickr.com
