What About The Other 99%?

The Real Definition of Grinding: Entrepreneurship

Joe Womack IIIFebruary.12.2011

GRINDINGWORK HARD. MEASURE. LEARN.

(REPEAT)

What Is An Entrepreneur?

“A person who forms an organization designed to deliver a (new) product or service under conditions of extreme uncertainty.” – Eric Ries

What Is Entrepreneurship?

• Change the world

• Build an organization of lasting value

• Make customers’ lives better

My Story

What Makes A Good Entrepreneur?

1. Tenacity2. Street Smarts3. Ability To Pivot4. Resiliency5. Inspiration6. Perspiration7. Willingness To Accept Risk8. Attention To Detail9. Competitiveness10. Decisiveness11. Experience12. Integrity

Adopted From Both Sides of The TableBy Mark Suster

Tenacity

The most important attribute of an entrepreneur is never being willing to give up.

Street Smarts

Getting out, understanding, and selling to customers is far more important than book

smarts or computer research.

Ability To Pivot

The best entrepreneurs fine tune their product and their business

model until they find

a groove.

Resiliency

Being an entrepreneur is cool … for those who haven’t done it. In reality it’s gritty, tough work

where you will be filled with self doubt. Entrepreneurs are survivors.

Inspiration

Tenacity + street smarts is not enough without inspiration. You need to lead teams and convince others to move mountains when by all means they shouldn’t believe they can…

Perspiration

There’s no “off button” on this guy…

Risky

If you aren’t willing to take a shot by starting your company it says you aren’t confident enough in the idea or in yourself.

Attention To Detail

If you’re going to lead a business you

need to be on top of all your details.

Competitiveness

The best entrepreneurs hate losing. Whether in life or business they

play to win. It consumes them.

Decisiveness

Entrepreneurs don’t “noodle,” they

“do.” Entrepreneurs are faced with a lot of

daily decisions – much of it minutiae. All of it

requiring decisions and action.

Experience

Having experience and relationships gives you an unfair advantage. Better that you start

with this than from scratch.

Integrity

When someone tells you, "That's impossible" it should be translated as

"According to my very limited experience and narrow understanding of reality,

that's very unlikely." Don't take advice as absolutes - the time may have changed

since the times of the people giving advice. No one has figured it all out -

we're just talking monkeys.

- Paul Buchheit, Creator of Gmail