Is There an Entrepreneurial Personality?

By Edward G. Rogoff

Many people believe that entrepreneurs can be characterized by an appetite for risk taking, a drive to innovate, a desire to be rich, and the willingness to be tested by major challenges. Successful entrepreneurs such as Ted Turner and Richard Branson certainly exemplify these traits in both their business and personal lives.

Turner was the first to place a local television station on satellite so that cable systems around the country could carry it. He also took a tremendous risk in starting CNN, the first all-news television network, and in purchasing the film library of MGM, which became the programming core of the cable channel Turner Classic Movies. Turner was also a champion sailor, who won the prestigious America’s Cup race.

Branson challenged British Air when he founded Virgin Airlines. He competed with the major music companies with his Virgin label, global soda producers with his own cola, and established cellular telephone corporations with his own brand. He has also been a world-class balloonist, attempting, albeit unsuccessfully, the enormously risky task of flying a hot-air balloon around the world.

But does this mean that you cannot be a successful entrepreneur without these dynamic personal characteristics? Researchers—notably Professor Bob Brockhaus of St. Louis University—have demonstrated that people with any personality type can be successful entrepreneurs. The conventional wisdom that entrepreneurs are attracted to risk is simply wrong; successful entrepreneurs manage and minimize risk strategically. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, raised several billion dollars before his company became profitable. But he only risked $60,000 of his own money.

Many successful entrepreneurs have personalities and skills completely different from the expected stereotype. Andy Grove, a founder of Intel, was primarily focused on technical issues. The News Corporation’s Rupert Murdoch is financially oriented, while John D. Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil and perhaps the greatest entrepreneur ever, was shy and bookish. Candy Lightner, a “social entrepreneur” who founded Mothers Against Drunk Driving, built a large and powerful organization based on her desire to reduce deaths from drunk driving.

The real question is not “Do I fit the stereotype of an entrepreneur?” but “How can I create the right match between myself and a venture?” For example, say you have built a better mousetrap, but you are introverted and very reluctant to approach people to sell your company’s product. You can compensate for this by hiring a sales team with the requisite abilities. Your business plan must show how all the necessary skills and talents are present either in you alone or in your team as a whole.

The process of creating a good match between yourself and a potential venture should follow four basic steps:

1. Define the skills, abilities, and personality characteristics that are required to make the business a success.
2. Measure yourself to see if you are qualified.
3. Define the gaps between what you have and what you need.
4. Build your management team with people who have all the skills and personality characteristics to make your venture successful, including industry knowledge, technical expertise, selling abilities, and management skills.

To complete step 2, certain standardized tests, especially the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)® and the Strong Interest Inventory, have proven to be reliable measures of personality characteristics. These tests are very useful to entrepreneurs who want to understand their existing skills and develop strategies for a successful and satisfying venture. While these tests require the interpretation of a trained psychologist or career counselor, they are available at many career centers, human resource departments, and counseling centers, including Baruch’s.

Society has developed some severely limiting stereotypes about entrepreneurs that can engender myths and prevent people from embarking on potentially successful enterprises. The good news is that opportunities exist for anyone who matches the right venture with the right resources. Everyone can be a successful entrepreneur. Even you.

Edward G. Rogoff is professor of management in Baruch’s Zicklin School of Business and the academic director of the Field Center for Entrepreneurship. He is the author of Bankable Business Plans and the forthcoming The Entrepreneurial Conversation, due out in December.

Illustration by Mark Shaver