10 Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs | HBS Online (2024)

Multiple factors go into starting a successful business venture, including a strong concept and initial funding. But, perhaps the most important ingredient is the entrepreneur. These are individuals who must transform their ideas into a fully operational business.

If you’re thinking about launching your own venture, you might be wondering if you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur. But first, what’s an entrepreneur, and what do they do?

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What Is Entrepreneurship?

While entrepreneurship is commonly thought of as the process of starting a business, there are several nuances to consider.

In the HBS Online course Entrepreneurship Essentials, entrepreneurship is defined as “the pursuit of opportunity beyond the resources currently controlled.” An opportunity can be a myriad of things, but the course describes it as "a proposed venture to sell a product or service for which customers are willing to pay more than the required investments and operating costs.”

Entrepreneurs—either as individuals or in teams—discover opportunities throughout their personal and professional lives. They form hypotheses on ways to deliver value to customers and perform structured tests to validate their ideas. This often involves recruiting teammates through networking and investing funds to determine how they’ll deliver a product or service at an acceptable cost.

Great entrepreneurs come from all walks of life. In Entrepreneurship Essentials, it’s noted that “there’s no single personality profile, and it’s important to pay attention to the entrepreneurial team, rather than focus on the individual.” And while that's true, there are certain characteristics and skills that are particularly important for entrepreneurs to have when starting and leading a venture.

Here are 10 characteristics shared by successful entrepreneurs.

10 Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs

10 Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs | HBS Online (1)

1. Curiosity

Successful entrepreneurs have a distinct personality trait that sets them apart from other organizational leaders: a sense of curiosity. An entrepreneur's ability to remain curious allows them to continuously seek new opportunities. Rather than settling for what they think they know, entrepreneurs ask challenging questions and explore different avenues.

This is validated in the online course Entrepreneurship Essentials, where entrepreneurship is described as a “process of discovery." Without curiosity, entrepreneurs can’t achieve their main objective: discovering new opportunities.

The drive they have to continuously ask questions and challenge the status quo can lead them to valuable discoveries easily overlooked by other business professionals.

2. Willingness to Experiment

Along with curiosity, entrepreneurs require an understanding of structured experimentation, such as design thinking. With each new opportunity, an entrepreneur must run tests to determine if it’s worthwhile to pursue.

For example, if you have an idea for a new product or service that fulfills an underserved demand, you’ll have to ensure customers are willing to pay for it and it meets their needs. To do so, you’ll need to conduct thorough market research and run meaningful tests to validate your idea and determine its potential.

3. Adaptability

Entrepreneurship is an iterative process, and new challenges and opportunities present themselves at every turn. It’s nearly impossible to be prepared for every scenario, but successful business leaders must be adaptable.

This is especially true for entrepreneurs who need to evaluate situations and remain flexible to ensure their business keeps moving forward, no matter what unexpected changes occur.

4. Decisiveness

To be successful, an entrepreneur has to make difficult decisions and stand by them. As a leader, they’re responsible for guiding the trajectory of their business, including every aspect from funding and strategy to resource allocation.

Being decisive doesn’t always mean being correct. Entrepreneurs need the confidence to make challenging decisions and see them through to the end. If the outcome turns out to be less than favorable, the decision to take corrective action is just as important.

Check out our video on the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs below, and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more explainer content!

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5. Self-Awareness

A great entrepreneur is aware of their strengths and weaknesses. Rather than letting shortcomings hold them back, they build well-rounded teams that complement their abilities.

In many cases, it’s the entrepreneurial team, rather than an individual, that drives a business venture toward success. When starting your own business, it’s critical to surround yourself with teammates who have complementary talents and contribute to a common goal.

Related: 10 Tips to Help You Boost Team Performance

6. Risk Tolerance

Entrepreneurship is often associated with risk. While it’s true that launching a venture requires an entrepreneur to take risks, they also need to take steps to minimize it.

While many things can go wrong when launching a new venture, many things can go right. According to Entrepreneurship Essentials, entrepreneurs who actively manage the relationship between risk and reward position their companies to “benefit from the upside.”

Successful entrepreneurs are comfortable with encountering some level of risk to reap the rewards of their efforts; however, their risk tolerance is tightly related to their efforts to mitigate it.

7. Comfort with Failure

In addition to risk-management and calculated decision-making, entrepreneurship requires a certain level of comfort with failure.

“Of startups that have more than one employee, 70 percent survive at least two years, half last at least five years, and a quarter last 15 years,” says Harvard Business School Professor William Sahlman in Entrepreneurship Essentials. “Even then, only a small fraction of the survivors get to be significant employers.”

The reasons for failure are vast and encompass everything from a lack of business scalability to low product-market fit. While many of these risks can be avoided, some are inevitable.

Despite this, entrepreneurs must prepare themselves for, and be comfortable with, failure. Rather than let fear hold them back, they maintain a positive attitude to allow the possibility of success to propel them forward.

8. Persistence

While many successful entrepreneurs are comfortable with the possibility of failing, it doesn’t mean they give up easily. Rather, they see failure as an opportunity to learn and grow.

Throughout the entrepreneurial process, many hypotheses turn out to be wrong, and some ventures fail altogether. Part of what makes an entrepreneur successful is their willingness to learn from mistakes, ask questions, and persist until they reach their goal.

Related: How to Become a More Resilient Leader

9. Innovative Thinking

Innovation often goes hand-in-hand with entrepreneurship. While innovation in business can be defined as an idea that’s both novel and useful, it doesn’t always involve creating an entirely new product or service. Some of the most successful startups have taken existing products or services and drastically improved them to meet the changing needs of the market.

Although innovation doesn’t come naturally to every entrepreneur, it’s a type of strategic mindset that can be cultivated. By developing your problem-solving skills, you’ll be well-equipped to spot innovative opportunities and position your venture for success.

10. Long-Term Focus

Most people associate entrepreneurship with starting a business. While the early stages of launching a venture, such as securing funding, are critical to its success, the process doesn’t end once the business is operational.

According to Entrepreneurship Essentials, “it’s easy to start a business, but hard to grow a sustainable and substantial one. Some of the greatest opportunities in history were discovered well after a venture launched.”

Entrepreneurship is a long-term endeavor, and entrepreneurs must focus on the process from beginning to end to ensure long-term success.

How to Develop the Qualities of an Entrepreneur

There’s no right or wrong way to be an entrepreneur. Characteristics and behaviors like experimentation, persistence, and innovation can be developed with time, experience, and training. As long as you possess the entrepreneurial spirit, you'll be able to seize opportunities and overcome challenges throughout your journey.

Are you interested in learning the ins and outs of entrepreneurship? Explore our four-week online course Entrepreneurship Essentials and our other entrepreneurship and innovation courses to learn to speak the language of the startup world. If you aren't sure which course is the right fit, download our free course flowchart to determine which best aligns with your goals.

This post was updated on August 14, 2023. It was originally published on July 7, 2020.

10 Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs | HBS Online (2024)

FAQs

What are 15 characteristics found most often in successful entrepreneurs? ›

Here are 15 characteristics you can improve to become a successful entrepreneur:
  • Creativity.
  • Passion.
  • Motivation.
  • Product or service knowledge.
  • Ability to network.
  • Self-confidence.
  • Optimism.
  • Vision.
Nov 30, 2022

What are the 7 traits of successful entrepreneurs? ›

The 7 signs of an entrepreneur include a strong work ethic, passion and drive, risk-taking, resilience, innovation, adaptability, and networking and building relationships. By identifying these traits in yourself and working to develop them, you can set yourself up for success as an entrepreneur.

What 8 characteristics do successful entrepreneurs have? ›

8 Traits That Make A Successful Entrepreneur
  • Determination. Entrepreneurship is often risky—you're putting your own money on the line and trying to make it grow in an uncertain environment. ...
  • Risk-Taking. ...
  • Optimism. ...
  • Curiosity. ...
  • Problem-Solving. ...
  • Confidence. ...
  • Adaptability To Change. ...
  • Persistence.
Dec 1, 2022

What are the three characteristics or qualities of an entrepreneur 10? ›

Curiosity: Being curious helps entrepreneurs to function differently that helps in doing things outside their comfort zone. Taking Risks: Entrepreneurs are risk takers because success can be achieved only by taking risks in business. Perseverance: Entrepreneurs should have the characteristics of perseverance.

What is the number 1 trait of entrepreneurs? ›

Entrepreneurs are almost defined by their drive to constantly develop new ideas and improve on existing processes. In fact, that's how most of them got into business in the first place.

What are the five qualities of successful entrepreneurship? ›

These include critical thinking skills, excellent communication skills, a growth mindset, and more. No one is born with these qualities - they are all something that can be developed over time. If you want to achieve success as an entrepreneur, start by prioritizing your own self-improvement and honing these qualities.

What are the 10 entrepreneurial traits explain? ›

What are the key characteristics of successful entrepreneurs? Successful entrepreneurs possess a combination of various traits and characteristics such as passion, persistence, creativity, adaptability, risk-taking, problem-solving skills, leadership, and a positive attitude.

What are the six qualities of an entrepreneur? ›

6 Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs
  • Tenacity. Can you stick to it? All entrepreneurs started with an idea and ran with it. ...
  • Passion. What drives you? ...
  • Tolerance of ambiguity. Are you a risk-taker? ...
  • Self-belief. How confident are you? ...
  • Vision. Do you spot opportunities? ...
  • Flexibility. Can you adapt?

What are the 6 characteristics of the entrepreneurial mindset? ›

6 Traits of People with the Entrepreneurial Mindset
  • They're creative thinkers. Challenging conventional thinking is a key trait to people with an entrepreneurial mindset. ...
  • They take action! ...
  • They listen! ...
  • They see the big picture! ...
  • They learn from experience. ...
  • They want to have an impact!

What is the strongest characteristic of successful entrepreneurs? ›

What are the qualities of a successful entrepreneur?
  1. Discipline. The number one quality of an entrepreneur is self-discipline. ...
  2. Curiosity. The best entrepreneurs always want to learn more. ...
  3. Creativity. ...
  4. Willingness to try things. ...
  5. Honesty. ...
  6. Always have a plan. ...
  7. Understanding the value of self-care. ...
  8. Taking risks.
Mar 22, 2022

What are the strengths of an entrepreneur? ›

A great entrepreneur must be able to effectively communicate, sell, focus, learn, and strategize. An ability to continuously learn is not just a key entrepreneurial skill, but also a very valuable life skill. Growing a business requires a sound strategy based on inherent business sense and skills.

What are the weaknesses of an entrepreneur? ›

I include 5 more common weaknesses of entrepreneurs:
  • No Sales Skills.
  • Couple and Family relations.
  • Bad and Unhealthy habits.
  • Friends vs. Employee.
  • Self control and stress.
Oct 12, 2016

What two questions do entrepreneurs often ask themselves? ›

Entrepreneurs must continually ask themselves what business they want to be in and what capabilities they would like to develop.

What are 4 What are the characteristics of an entrepreneur? ›

Business owners share many of the same entrepreneur characteristics: leadership, vision, discipline, curiosity, creativity, adaptability, and the ability to take measured risks. Developing these traits can help you become successful when launching your business.

What are the three 3 skills of a successful entrepreneur? ›

A combination of passion, persistence, and risk-taking that fuels their success. Passion for their work is the driving force behind successful entrepreneurs. They have confidence in their vision and will work eagerly to make it a reality.

What are the characteristics of an entrepreneur? ›

10 Characteristics Of An Entrepreneur
  • Passion. More often than not, entrepreneurs are extremely passionate about their work. ...
  • Motivation. Entrepreneurs need motivation to constantly push their skills to stay relevant in a dynamic market. ...
  • Product or service knowledge. ...
  • Risk management.
Nov 19, 2022

How many are the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur? ›

Business owners share many of the same entrepreneur characteristics: leadership, vision, discipline, curiosity, creativity, adaptability, and the ability to take measured risks. Developing these traits can help you become successful when launching your business. Define success for yourself as an entrepreneur.

Which of the following is a characteristic of successful entrepreneurs? ›

Successful entrepreneurs are ambitious, independent, self-confident, creative, energetic, passionate, and committed. They have a high need for achievement and a willingness to take moderate risks.

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