There are multiples ways to become a great entrepreneur. In Swanlaab, we have discovered that success can be achieved in multiple ways, since every company is a story and there is no one-size-fits-all.
There is not an ideal entrepreneurial personality. Actually, the best teams complement each other, finding constant support and the necessary skills to be successful on their venture. Therefore, anyone can potentially become a successful founder if they are able to team up and build their own “dream team”.
Then, why do some entrepreneurs fail while others success? There are plenty of factors to be considered when analyzing the story of a failed startup, many of them external. However, there are some common ingredients in the successful ones that are not affected by luck or randomness.
The first ingredient for an entrepreneur to success is its passion. In Swanlaab, we love to see passionate founders that love what they do and can put everything they have on the table to make their startup a global leader. Passionate founders absorb everything and are eager to learn.
A passionate entrepreneur never gets enough and believes that things can always be better. Their roadmaps are ambitious and are willing to risk everything and put all the effort in reaching their goal.
One of the first things we do at Swanlaab is give recommended read to the founders we want to work with. Did you know that almost all of them came up on the next meeting with notes and underlining on them? That is definitely a great sign that meand they are eager to work with us and learn.
Our model is a Venture Factory model where we deep dive into our portfolio startups and work closely with them. Suddenly, it seems like their team has grown by 5! But how can we do this? First, because our founders let us do it. They are passionate about their startups and let their egos aside to allow anyone help them and make the best out of their companies.
This comes handy to explain the second ingredient: trust. Combined with humbleness, trust gives passionate entrepreneurs a great weapon that differentiates them with the others. They can team up and work with the best to help their ventures become global leaders.
A humble entrepreneur that trusts those that want to help him gain incredible networks and are surrounded by the best. They are confident on their capabilities and skills but are also aware of the limitations. As it is wisely said: surround yourself by people better than you.
The third ingrediente is perseverance. This is probably a great complement for passion, since a good combination can lead to success and result in a greater outcome than combining talent and inteligence. Good founders have the audacity and confidence to not consider any problem unsolvable even though they are experiencing it themselves in their start-ups. They do not give up, they trust in themselves and look for solutions.
We first mentioned that combining skills and support is the key to building a great team. However, this does not get reduced to the founders. It is also key for choosing your funders. If you are only comfortable working with your own founding team, then you should chose some financial investors that do not want to get dirty with you. If not, you are welcomed to the Venture Factory model.
The Venture Factory model is only suitable for passionate and humble entrepreneurs, who are open to suggestions, change and challenges. If this describes you, you are welcomed at Swanlaab Venture Factory.
