Enterprise & Venture Capital, 5th Edition is out!

To quote Stephen King, the famous author, “What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.”

This book will give you some secrets to make your path to success a little easier.  Its loaded with wisdom from dozens of entrepreneurs, investors & success stories like Resmed, Looksmart & Hitwise.

Visit Allen & Unwin, our publisher to order a copy.

Entrepreneurs that win! How do they do it?

I just recently interviewed several people on this very question (mainly Australian VC’s). There are more than 3 here but you can see the traits and habits that lead to success.

Successful entrepreneurs tend to have the following habits/traits:

1) Stong self-belief & persistence (one founder had to visit 49 VC’s before finding one that would back him)
2) They listen and learn (bad one’s don’t listen); Good ones know what htey don’t know and openly admit it. Good ones are always learning

3) They are good at building teams and recruiting ‘A’ caliber people

4) They spend a lot of time talking to customers and potential customers to really understand their world and their needs

5) They talk and network with people who have done it before!

6) They are very good communicators and work at it

7) They are rational risk takers

8) They are creative

Interestingly, not all entrepreneurs make great leaders. Sometimes they have to hand over the reins and that is again where points 3 and 2 really come in.

Watch out for a book I am co-authoring on this subject in early 2009/late 2008 (Enterprise and Venture Capital).