{"id":35922,"date":"2020-06-16T09:55:06","date_gmt":"2020-06-16T13:55:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/?post_type=emagazine&#038;p=35922"},"modified":"2021-08-02T06:20:46","modified_gmt":"2021-08-02T10:20:46","slug":"tech-entrepreneur-attributes","status":"publish","type":"emagazine","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/tech-entrepreneur-attributes\/35922\/","title":{"rendered":"Five signs you&#8217;ll make it as a tech entrepreneur"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Feeling like you\u2019re back to the same-old, same-old, frustrated when your ideas at work go unrealized, for reasons you can\u2019t control?<\/p>\n<p>What if you were making all the decisions? Do you have what it takes to lead your own tech start-up? Despite that in recent years, we\u2019ve seen more women on conference programs and panels, headline-grabbers like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg eclipse a broader picture of what kinds of people lead groundbreaking tech success.<\/p>\n<p>When women succeed in tech entrepreneurship, they have often done so against <a href=\"https:\/\/gap.hks.harvard.edu\/investors-prefer-entrepreneurial-ventures-pitched-attractive-men\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">odds not faced by their male counterparts<\/a>. Their insights on what attributes and attitudes will lead you to start-up success are rooted in experience of forging their own path.<\/p>\n<h2>1. Uncertainty doesn\u2019t faze you<\/h2>\n<p>Starting a tech business is riddled with uncertainty. You need to be able to make a plan when the goalposts, and the ground beneath your feet, are moving. And you\u2019ll need to be able to adapt to change fast. You\u2019ll never have all the answers, but you\u2019ll still be able to see ways to move forward.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"640\" height=\"390\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OSE6Ja_vup8?version=3&amp;rel=1&amp;fs=1&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;wmode=transparent\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Elsa Nicol, co-founder and CEO of Wattson Elements, says there\u2019s no need to disappear until you have all the facts \u2013 you\u2019ll have time to get them.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>2. You\u2019re willing to develop, improve and even throw out your ideas<\/h2>\n<p>Tech entrepreneurs don\u2019t decide their \u2018baby\u2019 is the right solution and doggedly cling to it. Stories like that of <u><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Elizabeth_Holmes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Elizabeth Holmes \u2013 inventor of the blood-test biochip that never existed<\/a><\/u> \u2013 show just how destructive hanging onto a dud idea can be.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Great tech entrepreneurs want to solve the problem more than they want to be right about how it\u2019s best solved. They\u2019re more interested in being useful than in being popular.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"640\" height=\"390\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6s2nzg2wxUw?version=3&amp;rel=1&amp;fs=1&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;wmode=transparent\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Founder of AI for Good, Kriti Sharma says to place value on your work\u2019s impact on society, not how many people it reaches.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>3. You can be persuasive, but you\u2019re more substance than style<\/h2>\n<p>When you run a start-up, you need to win people over to your idea, time and again. From securing funding to motivating your team, you need to be tireless in inspiring people to give you their best. And you\u2019re not just selling your product, you\u2019re selling yourself.<\/p>\n<p>Contrary to popular belief, leaders don\u2019t need star quality \u2013 <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gsb.stanford.edu\/insights\/lindred-greer-great-leaders-understand-fundamentals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">experience and skills predict success better than charisma<\/a><\/u>. But you do need to make people believe in what you can do.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"640\" height=\"390\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dN2JIp6u4r0?version=3&amp;rel=1&amp;fs=1&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;wmode=transparent\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Co-founder and CEO of TeamEQ Francesca Gabetti says if you\u2019re able to raise all the money you need at the beginning, it will help a lot.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>4. You\u2019re happy to do whatever needs doing<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"640\" height=\"390\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ofz3iwX_x-o?version=3&amp;rel=1&amp;fs=1&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;wmode=transparent\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Francesca Gabetti says founders have to do everything.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Early in the life of your start-up, you\u2019ll need to turn your hand to all kinds of tasks that won\u2019t feel like what you were born to do. If you\u2019re the kind of person who tends to think, \u2018that\u2019s not my job,\u2019 or you\u2019ve developed advanced skills in avoiding tasks you don\u2019t like, tech entrepreneurship may not be for you.<\/p>\n<h2>5. You can cope with imperfection, and you\u2019re willing to put your ideas to the test<\/h2>\n<p>Gone are the days when entrepreneurs jealously guarded their ideas up until the moment of a giant, glitzy launch. <u><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Perfect_is_the_enemy_of_good\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Perfect is the enemy of good<\/a><\/u>. And in tech, it\u2019s usually much easier to get a prototype or beta version out to gauge the response than it is with other kinds of products.<\/p>\n<p>As anyone who\u2019s done <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.interaction-design.org\/literature\/article\/user-research-what-it-is-and-why-you-should-do-it\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">user research<\/a><\/u> will tell you, the biggest shortcomings of products often aren\u2019t what the team thinks they are. Testing with real people isn\u2019t a luxury; it saves time and money.<\/p>\n<p>Leading your own start-up almost always means working long hours and testing your skills to their limit. <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/neilpatel\/2015\/01\/16\/90-of-startups-will-fail-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-10\/#7f685a416679\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Few succeed<\/a><\/u>, but if you have these five qualities, you have a great chance of being among those who do. Get more advice on making your tech start-up succeed from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=z2mqsNbDaTk&amp;t=1s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Conversations with female tech entrepreneurs<\/a>, by Kaspersky\u2019s Tomorrow Unlocked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you have what it takes to lead your own tech start-up? Match yourself with these five qualities from those in the know, and you&#8217;ll have your answer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2552,"featured_media":35924,"template":"","coauthors":[3673],"class_list":{"0":"post-35922","1":"emagazine","2":"type-emagazine","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"emagazine-category-leadership","7":"emagazine-category-start-ups","8":"emagazine-category-women-and-diversity","9":"emagazine-tag-professional-advice"},"hreflang":[{"hreflang":"x-default","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/tech-entrepreneur-attributes\/35922\/"},{"hreflang":"en-us","url":"https:\/\/usa.kaspersky.com\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/tech-entrepreneur-attributes\/22631\/"},{"hreflang":"en-gb","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.co.uk\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/tech-entrepreneur-attributes\/21713\/"}],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/emagazine\/35922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/emagazine"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/emagazine"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2552"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=35922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}