In today’s episode of The Startup Chat, Steli and Hiten talk about whether entrepreneurs are made or born.

Is being an entrepreneur something that comes naturally to some people and not to others, or can they can anyone, through education, experience and mentorship, develop the skills needed to become an entrepreneur? This is a question that comes up all the time and one that is not easy to answer.

So in this episode, Steli and Hiten talk about how entrepreneurs and founders come from all works of life, the intent behind this question, why no one is born to be an entrepreneur and much more.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:00 About the topic of today’s episode

00:17 Why this topic was chosen.

01:14 How entrepreneurs and founders come from all works of life.

01:14 How It’s the hard work that comes after you’ve started that matters.

02:43 The intent behind this question

03:47 How hard work plays a big role in being successful. 

04:45 Why this question might matter to some people.

05:57 Why no one is born to be an entrepreneur.

06:31 The biggest fear people have about starting their own business.

07:32 How there’s always an issue to solve when you own your own business.

3 Key Points:

Entrepreneurs and founders come from all works of life.Everybody wants answers, but nobody knows anythingIt’s the hard work that comes after you’ve started that matters

[0:00:00]

Steli Efti: Hey everybody, this is Steli Efti.

[0:00:03]

Hiten Shah: And this is Hiten Shah.

[0:00:04]

Steli Efti: And today on the Startup Show we're going to talk about and debate the age old question, entrepreneurs, are they born or are they made? I don't know if you've ever been asked this question, but I definitely have. So let me ask you right out of the bat, Hiten, and we've never talked about this before, I think. Entrepreneurs, what do you think, are they made or are they born?

[0:00:29]

Hiten Shah: What if I said neither?

[0:00:31]

Steli Efti: Yeah, if you said neither, I wouldn't be surprised. That's what would happen.

[0:00:37]

Hiten Shah: I don't think this question needs to exist. And I think this question doesn't need to exist because entrepreneurs, founders, people who start companies come from all walks of life and they come from all kinds of backgrounds. And there is no predictor of success. That's bottom line. There's no predictor of success. There's no high likelihood that this founder, that founder is going to build $1 billion business or even a profitable business. There is no predictor of success. This stuff is hard. And so I think my response to the question of are they born or are they made, is that they are who they are and most are accidental to some extent. Right? They build something and it just works. And in some way, right? After 10 years of nothing working for example, or the first thing that they decide to do, they just get it so right. But that doesn't make them a genius. It's the hard work that comes after you start that matters, not necessarily the fact that you started. And this whole born or made almost basically suggests that it's already taken care of before you start in some way. Even made, it's like, "Oh, before you start, these are the things you need to do." Your mate, a founder or an entrepreneur. Or if you're born with it, it's like, "Oh, your family comes from a family of entrepreneurs," or, "you grew up in the Bay Area and you've been around it," or whatever. That's just not how it works. They come from all walks of life. There's no real strong pattern. There are things that you can do once you start, there are a lot of things, but I don't think that means that you're made or you're born. I think that just means that you're in this current existing situation that you've got yourself into, whatever it may be.