Creating the Entrepreneur's Ecosystem: Attributes of the Successful Entrepreneur

It matters little what the agenda of an APPGE event is, the conversation always creeps into a debate over what today's entrepreneur needs to succeed.  Throughout these discussions the same factors reoccur and correlate with other initiatives from around the world. Examples including New Zealand's Entrepreneurship Development programme and the US' Global Entrepreneurship Program cite the importance of 'contacts', 'confidence'  'training' and  ‘Guiding to funding'. 

Here is a brief look at some of our reoccurring points of interest:

> Confidence

Confidence is understood to be the number one obstacle. This observation often precedes a comment about the number of lottery winners who subsequently invest in their own enterprises. According to the EU, only 11% of Europeans are entrepreneurs despite 45% saying they would like to own their own business.  In the words of Peter de Savary, “you can never be an entrepreneur if you’re afraid of loosing money. It’s like being a pilot afraid of bad weather”. 

> Knowledge and skills
For many entrepreneurs, this is the reason they do not reach their potential. A resounding component of success is the accuracy of knowledge in your database. It is often said in marketing that 80% of your revenue comes from 20% of your database, making accuracy and focus ever important. It's in the quality not the quantity. 

> Finance

Financing a business in the current climate is relatively hard. Methods of funding are diverse and range from crowd funding to private investment. It is often commented on that many entrepreneurs do not simply realise what is available to them. The APPGE plan to look at this specifically in a future event. 

> People

Networking is about increasing your resources through other people; 'people' is a resource in itself. The old cliché ‘it’s who you know not what you know’, works internally and externally of your enterprise. In a recent discussion, the CEO of Founders Fit said, “if you have a B class idea with A class people around you, you can make it work. Likewise, if you have an A class idea with a B class team there is a high chance of failure”. 

The APPGE is looking to expand on these points in an upcoming forum looking explicitly at the obstacles of the entrepreneur today. 

Tom Dunbar of the APPGE