To the self-help gurus who venture into the unknowns of #entrepreneurship https://t.co/CmsnDQy5ud
— Kiran Johny (@johnywrites) May 14, 2019
You may be discouraged from becoming an entrepreneur because you don’t look like the kinds of founders that you see in popular culture. You may be thinking you need to be like Mark Zuckerberg or @BillGates, but the latest research shows that this is not true! 1/5 pic.twitter.com/lcdsaO0JpP
— Ethan Mollick (@emollick) May 13, 2019
For example, the our headcanon on view of entrepreneurs is that they are YOUNG maybe even college drop outs. But the average age of founders is 42. And the average age of a founder who creates a hypergrowth company is 45! 2/5 pic.twitter.com/Pmvz2MHdno
— Ethan Mollick (@emollick) May 13, 2019
Many of the successful entrepreneurs that we reference a lot are also MEN. There are lots of reasons why their are fewer female entrepreneurs, and lots of barriers to women-led startups, but… women appear to be just as good as men at running startups, once they are underway. 3/ pic.twitter.com/SyakwZS7Wa
— Ethan Mollick (@emollick) May 13, 2019
You may also notice that many of these companies are FOUNDED WITH FRIENDS. Research by Jason Greenberg and myself shows that companies founded by family members often survive longest. Those founded by coworkers are second best. 4/5 pic.twitter.com/CEGnRpvRL5
— Ethan Mollick (@emollick) May 13, 2019
Finally, many people think founders need certain PERSONALITY TRAITS. But there are very few personality factors that impact startup success, and those that do (like a belief in your own abilities) are pretty weak. So don’t let stereotypes of entrepreneurship discourage you! 5/5
— Ethan Mollick (@emollick) May 13, 2019