Belmont University

Born or Made? Not the Important Question!

There is an interesting buzz going on around the Internet and around the world about the source of entrepreneurship. The question being asked is this: are entrepreneurs born or are they made?

The World Bank's blog has a good summary of the debate. Here are the highlights:

- A UK study of identical twins claims that genes explain 48% of a person's propensity to be self-employed. (FuturePundit explores this study in more depth).

- Another study looks are testosterone levels as a predictor. (BusinessPundit has an interesting take on this study).

- While a couple of other studies, including one from China summarized at the World Bank blog and the study that I panned their conclusions in a post earlier this week, favor the nurture argument over the genetic one.

So what is my take on this debate? While it may be an entertaining academic discussion, there never will be a single answer. It is part nurture, part nature, part culture, part economic policy, and part circumstances. So enough already!!

How someone gets to the point of wanting to start a business does not really interest me at all. I am a pragmatist. What matters to me are those things we can do to create an environment in which entrepreneurs will have the best chance to succeed. And what creates that environment? Come on everybody, sing along: less regulation, lower and more neutral taxes, and education.

My part in this is to rant about regulations and taxes, and to try and be a part of the educational movement to improve how we teach and train entrepreneurs. As I argued a while back in response to a Fortune Small Business article, Yes, Entrepreneurship Can, and Is, Being Taught.

(Thanks to Diego for suggesting this topic).


Posted by Jeff Cornwall on June 16, 2006 07:25 AM |

Comments

I was just interviewed on this same topic for the Boston Herald. The article came out today ironically enough:

http://business.bostonherald.com/entrepreneur2006/view.bg?articleid=143963

Birdied by: Dan Marques | June 16, 2006 09:51 AM

Here is a link that also has some of this same stuff. Ideas from a Babson Entrepreneurship professor and those of some entreprenuers.

http://business.bostonherald.com/entrepreneur2006/view.bg?articleid=143963

..be bold

Birdied by: Jason Duncan | June 16, 2006 10:22 AM

I believe entrepreneurship CAN be taught but I personally think being exposed to it growing up goes a looooooooong way towards developing the appetite for it. Just my humble experience...

Birdied by: Cheri Troxel | June 16, 2006 05:01 PM

I think that entrepreneurship can be taught. Many people often have misconceptions of what an entrepreneur is. Just like an discipline, a person can be taught to be successful as an entrepreneur. There are processes and strategies that can be taught to help improve the success rates of a new venture. Though there are those who are born to be an entrepreneur, there are also those who can be taught to be just as successful.

Birdied by: Vin Phan | June 20, 2006 02:42 PM

This is really an interesting post. it truely made me think why i began my own business. My personal attributes are not really inclined towards entrepreneurship. I think due to personal circumstances and experience have made me more business minded. To begin wtih, during my up bringing i was never that interested in money or business. But over time.. i realised how much fun it can be. For me my work and business is computer/ internet based its like a big game really...a game of numbers!!!!

Birdied by: Ecomatrix | June 20, 2006 02:55 PM

I believe that entrepreneurs are made, not necessarily born. I do believe though that certain people are born with traits that will help them to succeed more easily than others. There are some people who are more sociable than others, or have a more creative mind than the next person. But I believe the most successful entrepreneurs are those who take their abilities and combine them with the knowledge and experience that they acquire over time. Not that a person can necessarily take a lesson learned from reading an entrepreneur book and automatically apply it to their startup. They will need to research, network, and draw upon their built-in abilities. So my best answer is that entrepreneurs are both born and made.

Birdied by: Ben Schooley | June 22, 2006 04:12 PM

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