What do Bill Gates and Eneko Knorr have in common? Or Mark Zuckerberg and Raúl Jiménez of Minube?
The entrepreneurial gene, without a doubt, and the fact that they have made the most of it, because they have achieved business success. You don’t have to be born in Silicon Valley and study at Stanford like Billy or little Mark to build a globally successful company.
Profiles International, through its Spanish subsidiary PROFILES ESPAÑA and with the collaboration of AJE Madrid (the Madrid Young Entrepreneurs’ Association), Aseme-Omega and Emprendedores Jung, has carried out an interesting study of the DNA of the successful entrepreneur. As soon as they told me about their idea I threw myself into helping them carry out the study, drawing on my contacts at AJE Madrid.
To do so, they selected business owners with at least 5 years’ experience running their company, leaders in their sector, with continuity and financial solidity, and who have built and lead effective, productive teams.
Profiles held an in-depth interview with each of them, analysing mainly their soft skills and not just their technical knowledge, along with mental agility and various tests.
The Profiles study used the Job Fit methodology, which is used to analyse executive profiles and is based on scientific research from Harvard University.
The most striking conclusions about the DNA of the successful entrepreneur are that they are:
- People who develop their communication skills, convey and report information efficiently, are able to take in more complex information and learn quickly from their mistakes.
- They show a high degree of energy, determination, independence and control over their actions.
- They contribute ideas and have the initiative to challenge the status quo.
- They show a positive, optimistic attitude while remaining realistic.
- They are very creative people, with an entrepreneurial spirit, obviously, and they keep a close eye on their finances.
Other interesting aspects or conclusions:
- They rely on objective information when making decisions, but without ignoring their “intuition”
- Networking is key: they build and lean on their network of contacts.
- They work as a team and seek harmony within it, while still being firm when necessary.
The study was 
presented at garAJE to a good turnout, and we were also supported by the presence of Joaquín Velázquez, Deputy Director of the entrepreneurship department of the Comunidad de Madrid (Madrid regional government).
If you want to know more about the study and its methodology, have a look at this link – summary.
And if you fancy finding out how your profile compares with the sample studied, and discovering your strengths and areas for improvement, visit http://www.adnemprendedor.es
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