To be successful in entrepreneurship, preparation is worth more than passion
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 9:37 am
Almost every experienced entrepreneur, when asked by aspiring entrepreneurs, does not hesitate to respond that the sparkle in their eyes is what makes the difference and separates those who manage to become successful from those who succumb after creating their companies.
However, excessive passion (if passion can be measured!) seems to be a negative point, when potential entrepreneurs are not properly prepared for the challenge that lies ahead.
This was found in a series of studies conducted by Utpal M. Dholakia, Michal Herzenstein, and Scott Sonenshein, as reported in a recent Harvard Business Review article.
In a survey of hundreds of business dominican republic phone numbers founders, they concluded that passion has nothing to do with the long-term results of the business.
What matters, objectively, is preparation, that is, whether the founders feel completely certain of what they will do, whether they know the target market in depth, and whether they have created plans to overcome obstacles and explore contingencies.
In the study, researchers analyzed several projects entered into the largest university entrepreneurship competition in the United States (held at Rice University), in areas ranging from biotechnology and life sciences to consumer products and retail.
At first, entrepreneurs cited passion as an essential factor for success, but researchers identified that, after three years, what really counted for the success of the businesses analyzed was the preparation of the entrepreneurial team.
But another study with hundreds of projects again found that entrepreneurs who were most passionate about their idea were three times more likely to get investment from a fundraising site or angel investment.
It seems that passion does indeed help the project take off, but preparation is essential to reach cruising speed and, furthermore, achieve autonomy that allows the company to prosper for years.
Naturally, we are not suggesting that first-time entrepreneurs forget about passion, so acclaimed by entrepreneurs as a symbol of the secret to success, but that excessive emphasis on passion can blind the entrepreneur and leave him without support to grow.
It is also up to the beginning entrepreneur to seek balance, which will be unique to each individual, and to assemble a team with complementary profiles to support the business project they intend to create.
This way, he/she will be able to infect everyone with his/her vision of growth, his/her passion for what is being built, and encourage, with his/her leadership, each member of the team to obtain maximum results from the knowledge they have.
However, excessive passion (if passion can be measured!) seems to be a negative point, when potential entrepreneurs are not properly prepared for the challenge that lies ahead.
This was found in a series of studies conducted by Utpal M. Dholakia, Michal Herzenstein, and Scott Sonenshein, as reported in a recent Harvard Business Review article.
In a survey of hundreds of business dominican republic phone numbers founders, they concluded that passion has nothing to do with the long-term results of the business.
What matters, objectively, is preparation, that is, whether the founders feel completely certain of what they will do, whether they know the target market in depth, and whether they have created plans to overcome obstacles and explore contingencies.
In the study, researchers analyzed several projects entered into the largest university entrepreneurship competition in the United States (held at Rice University), in areas ranging from biotechnology and life sciences to consumer products and retail.
At first, entrepreneurs cited passion as an essential factor for success, but researchers identified that, after three years, what really counted for the success of the businesses analyzed was the preparation of the entrepreneurial team.
But another study with hundreds of projects again found that entrepreneurs who were most passionate about their idea were three times more likely to get investment from a fundraising site or angel investment.
It seems that passion does indeed help the project take off, but preparation is essential to reach cruising speed and, furthermore, achieve autonomy that allows the company to prosper for years.
Naturally, we are not suggesting that first-time entrepreneurs forget about passion, so acclaimed by entrepreneurs as a symbol of the secret to success, but that excessive emphasis on passion can blind the entrepreneur and leave him without support to grow.
It is also up to the beginning entrepreneur to seek balance, which will be unique to each individual, and to assemble a team with complementary profiles to support the business project they intend to create.
This way, he/she will be able to infect everyone with his/her vision of growth, his/her passion for what is being built, and encourage, with his/her leadership, each member of the team to obtain maximum results from the knowledge they have.