Entrepreneurship and teamwork

In searching for something good to talk about this week, I decided to search the phrase "be the best entrepreneur ever." Can't beat that, right?

I expected a bunch of silly fluff, but instead found an article called What's an Entrepreneur? The Best Answer Ever written by Eric Schurenberg for Inc.com. Schurenberg fishes up a decades-old quotation from Howard Stevenson of Harvard Business School:

Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.

Through Schurenberg, Stevenson explains that entrepreneurs are likely to start from humble beginnings not because those with small bank accounts are more willing to take risks, but because they are accustomed to making something out of nothing.

Schurenberg also comments that "When you don’t have the cash to boss people around, like in a corporation, you have to create a more horizontal organization." We've talked a lot in class about how having a good team is more instrumental to success than having a good idea. A good team is skilled and works well together, and a good idea is something for which people (or experts) can forecast value. But what keeps any team working on an idea?

I think the glue between team and idea is shared passion. Team and idea can only get you so far before water-treading and disenchantment set in. This seems another feather in the cap of entrepreneurship. Because immediate rewards are often low, collaborators tend to get on board only if they truly believe in the project: "The pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources."

This semester, I've been lucky to draw a collaborator who believes in my project and an independent-study advisor who happens to be building his career on the theme of online idea-sharing that we're exploring. I think back to all the times I tried to float a project without anybody jumping on board, and realize it had less to do with their skill or my foresight, and more to do with their interest before I even opened my mouth.

I'm no expert at this point, but here are my two cents: For all the great things you can say about your idea, its feasibility, and the prowess of those already on board, what really matters most in your pitch is that you show how much you love your idea, and that you find someone else who is ready to latch onto that spark.

Love it first, choose your audience second, and prove it third. With just a little luck, you'll find a friend in battle. I hope. :)