What Makes a Good Entrepreneur?
“It’s great to have an idea, but it’s more important to work on it,” said Michael Levin, one of the most successful US entrepreneurs. He presented “The Making of a Maverick: The Theory and Practice of Entrepreneurship” at The Fletcher School on March 28th in a talk sponsored by the International Business Program Global Speaker Series.
While demystifying some of the common assumptions about entrepreneurship, Levin shared valuable insights into his journey as an entrepreneur. He started at Harvard Business School and then went on to become the chairperson of Titan Steel. Later, he founded NewView Technologies (formerly e-STEEL) where he served as chairperson. Currently, he is the Entrepreneur-in-Residence at The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
Though Levin said that he never knew of his entrepreneurial inclinations, his career path clearly demonstrates the characteristics of a person who trail blazes throughout many endeavors. Even the format for his talk was indicative of his entrepreneurial personality. Rather than presenting his views as a speech, Levin opted for an interactive voting system that allowed the audience to share their views (as true or false) on some rather provocative entrepreneurship topics.
Successful entrepreneurs love risk: True or False? Addressing a mixed response from the audience, the majority agreed with the statement. Levin said that most entrepreneurs do not think that they are taking risks when they act. On the contrary, they are confident that their decisions will lead to success. While choosing not to have a stable job is a risk in itself, the better way to view this question, according to Levin, is to ask what kind of risks entrepreneurs do take.
One of the most startling responses came to the statement—Business plans are essential. While most in the audience voted yes, Levin went on to disagree. According to Levin, “The probability that your business is going to bear any resemblance to your business plan is minute.” Instead, he recommended using business plans as a means to keep one’s thoughts in check, not as a tool to sell one’s ideas.
Innovation trumps execution: True or False? Along with most in the audience, Levin rejected this notion. “There is a world out there of good ideas that you have never heard of…the difference is execution.” Citing his own career track, starting from a steel trade and distribution company to creating a business in a dotcom world, Levin said, “If you find a person who is good at execution, you can apply that to a wide spectrum of ideas.”
Levin recommended several unconventional business practices. First, he advised not focusing on strategy, but on implementation. “Strategy is a daily iteration of what moves you to the next step. Survive long enough to start to connect the dots. Then spend more time on strategy.” He also warned against the pitfalls of being a perfectionist in entrepreneurial endeavors. “You are not going to get it exactly right. The price you pay for certainty beyond a reasonable point is not going to be worth the incremental time and money you are going to burn getting there.”
Highlighting the need for sales and marketing in any successful entrepreneurial venture, Levin said, “If you are going to be an entrepreneur and start your own company, each of you have to be the best spokesperson for what your company does. If you cannot be that, then you should find somebody to be your partner who can do so.”
Aside from this advice, Levin stressed that the secret to successful entrepreneurial endeavors is undivided commitment. “[T]he commitment to what you want is predictive of your happiness and result…There is nothing like a perfect start-up. You commit to it, you make it happen and then you find your satisfaction in it.”
Sujata Tuladhar, MALD ‘09