1. Entrepreneurial Mindset
2009
Class 1
Professor Cheolsoo Ahn

2. Overview Introduction What is an ‘Entrepreneur’?
Who are entrepreneurs?
Why do entrepreneurs do that?
Essential Ingredients of Entrepreneur’s Success

3. 1. Introduction

4. Traits of Korean Students
US professors’ opinion on Korean students
Focusing on
How-to, not Basic concepts
Solving problems, not Asking good questions
Dichotomy, not Balanced thinking

5. This class is NOT about…
How to make money
How to start new businesses
How to write a good business plan

6. This class is about… What is “entrepreneur”? Who is he/she?
Why does he/she start something?
A lot of insights into life as an entrepreneur

7. This class is NOT about…
Finding one definitive solution to a problem

8. This class is about…
Accepting the fact that single best solution doesn’t exist in the real world
That there is no right or wrong answer to real-life problems
And that finding an answer is a start, not an end

9. This class is NOT about…
Planning and foresight

10. This class is about…
Luck, randomness and adaptive aspect of the entrepreneurial process

11. This class is NOT about…
Listening my stories

12. This class is about…
Listening to others
Finding yourself

13. This class is NOT about…
Knowledge

14. This class is about…
Enlightenment

15. This class is NOT about…
One-way lecture

16. This class is about…
Discussion based on reading materials and assignments

17. Why Discussion in Class?
Not for simple knowledge, but for deep understanding
Opportunity to flex your mental muscle
Opportunity to hear from others

18. Summary: This class is about…
Helping find your own strength
Exposing you to a diverse group of entrepreneurs through case studies, books and lectures
Reassuring you who might lack self-confidence in your entrepreneurial characters
Encouraging you to think carefully about where and how you could best deploy your abilities in the future

19. Class Design Part Ⅰ: StrengthFinder Part Ⅱ: Case studies Part Ⅲ: Books
‘The Mousedriver Chronicles’: real life
‘The Monk and the Riddle’: motivation
Part Ⅳ: Team project
Interviewing an entrepreneur

20. Class Schedule Class 1: What is Entrepreneurship?
Class 2: Discover your strengths
Class 3: One-person company
Class 4: Entrepreneurship through partnership and acquisition
Class 5: Entrepreneurship in BT/IT Industry
Class 6: ‘The Mousedriver Chronicles’
Class 7: ‘The Monk and the Riddle’
Class 8: Presentation of team projects

21. Textbooks
StrengthFinder 2.0, by Tom Rath, Gallup Press or Now Discover Your Strengths, by Marcus Buckingham & Donald Clifton, Free Press
The Mouse Driver Chronicles, by John Lusk & Kyle Harrison, Basic Books
The Monk and the Riddle, by Randy Komisar, Harvard Business School Press

22. Cases R&R Paul Olsen (A) Eric Wood (A)
Marcia Radosevich and Health Payment Review: 1989 (A)
Vermeer Technologies (A): A Company is Born

23. 2. What is an “Entrepreneur”?

24. What is an “Entrepreneur”?
企業家
起業家
機業家

25. What is an “Entrepreneur”?
Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary: one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise
Wikipedia: a person who has possession over a company, enterprise, or venture, and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome

26. What is an “Entrepreneur”?
Starting new organizations or revitalizing mature organizations
- the same in terms of mindset
Making his/her own decisions and being responsible for the consequences
Having ownership (in most cases, but not essential)

27. What is “Entrepreneurship”?
Wikipedia: the practice of starting new organizations or revitalizing mature organizations, particularly new businesses generally in response to identified opportunities
In short, entrepreneurship is entrepreneurial activities/practices

28. 3. Who are Entrepreneurs?

29. Which part is true? A typical entrepreneur is a risk taker,
good at strategy and planning,
and going for quick success.
Risk taker
Good at strategy and planning
Going for quick success
None of above

30. Myth about Entrepreneur
Risk taker
Gambler
Thrill seeker

31. Fact about Entrepreneur
Risk manager or Calculated risk taker
Not afraid of uncertainty because uncertainty brings opportunity with it

32. Myth about Entrepreneur
Great strategist
Good at planning and foresight
Good at writing the great business plan

33. Fact about Entrepreneur
Opportunistic
Adaptive

34. Myth about Entrepreneur
Aiming at becoming a millionaire in short time

35. Fact about Entrepreneur
Hard-working
Persistent and tenacious, because it usually takes long time to succeed
Silicon Valley VCs
‘Don’t eat the marshmallow yet!’ by Joachim de Posada & Ellen Singer

36. Which part is true?
A typical entrepreneur is a rare-breed with different personality than rest of us and good at social networking.
Different personality
Good at social networking
None of above

37. Myth about Entrepreneur
Genius who is born, not made
Rare breed

38. Fact about Entrepreneur
Much more common
11.1% of U.S. households have a self-employed head
13% of people between the ages of 18 and 74 are in the process of starting a business
More people start a business than get married or have children
40% of population will be self-employed for some part of their work life

39. Myth about Entrepreneur
Different personalities and a different way of thinking than the rest of us
More passionate, creative, innovative, driven, and optimistic

40. Fact about Entrepreneur
A special psychological makeup for entrepreneurs doesn’t exist

41. Myth about Entrepreneur
Adept at social networking
‘What you know is less important than who you know’

42. Fact about Entrepreneur
Being a lone wolf is more common

43. Most Common Age Range for Entrepreneurs?
15 – 24
25 – 34
35 – 44
45 – 54
55 and above

44. Myth about Entrepreneur
Young person’s game

45. Fact about Entrepreneur
Middle-aged (35 to 44) person is more likely to be an entrepreneur

46. Which One is More Common?
College drop-out vs. College graduate
No work experience vs. Some work experience
High tech industry vs. Low tech industry

47. Myth about Entrepreneur
College drop-out like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, Mark Zuckerberg

48. Fact about Entrepreneur
Getting more education increases the likelihood that a person will start his/her own business

49. Myth about Entrepreneur
Founding a company shortly after he/she graduated college

50. Fact about Entrepreneur
Work experience increases a person’s chances of starting his/her own business

51. Myth about Entrepreneur
High tech industries are breeding ground

52. Fact about Entrepreneur
Only 7% of new companies in the U.S. are started in industries that the government defines as high technology

53. Myth about Entrepreneur
Going public and building a financial empire (a big company)

54. Fact about Entrepreneur
There are many colors and shapes
One-person company
Technology start-up
Bricks-and-mortar business
Acquisition of private company
Large corporation (corporate entrepreneur)
Non-profit organization (social entrepreneur)

55. Corporate Entrepreneur vs. Employee
Corporate Entrepreneurs do not just follow orders as usual employees, but act on their own initiative for their organizations

56. Summary: Who are Entrepreneurs?
No stereotype
Heterogeneity in terms of personalities, backgrounds, skills, opportunities, and approaches to exploiting opportunities

57. 4. Why do Entrepreneurs do that?

58. Myth about Entrepreneur
Main goal is to make money

59. Fact about Entrepreneur
Main goal is to do something he/she loves
What about other professions?
To be independent

60. Defining Success
Every entrepreneur’s definition of success is different and personal
You should define your own success
Success is a journey, not a destination
‘The Monk and the Riddle’ by Randy Komisar

61. Prospect Job satisfaction (Ministry of Education)
77% of doctors are not happy with their job (Good Morning Doctor Monthly)

62. Some Guidelines for Defining Personal Success
Feeling a sense of purpose or direction in what you are doing (meaningful)
Being happy with what you are doing (fun to do)
Feel like you are accomplishing something you are good at
Don’t confuse what you are good at with what you like to do

63. 5. Essential Ingredients of Entrepreneur’s Success

64. Ingredients of Success
External
Legacy
Opportunity (or Luck)
Internal
Talents (or Aptitude)
Efforts
Entrepreneurial mindset

65. Opportunities Ice hockey team in Canada Only one anomaly
Selection process started even before kindergarten
Selected only based on individual merit
Only one anomaly
Incredible number of Jan, Feb, Mar birth dates

66. Opportunities That’s because the eligibility cutoff is Jan 1st
Selected one gets better coaching, better teammates, and practices twice more
Result of confusing maturity with ability
Turned out to be the worst selection process for gifted

67. Opportunities We cannot control everything
We should be ready when the opportunity comes
Don’t personalize success

68. Talents
Talent: A natural way of thinking, feeling, or behaving

69. Efforts to Build Expertise
10,000-hour rule
10,000 hours = 3 hours * 333 days * 10 years
Beatles, Bill Gates

70. Entrepreneurial Mindset
Knowing his or her talents
Capable of understanding and targeting opportunities
Comfortable (or bearable) with uncertainty
Adaptable
Persistent
Self-efficacy

71. Summary of Class 1

72. Summary of Class 1 Entrepreneurs are not different from rest of us
No stereotype
Importance of entrepreneurial mindset

73. Next On…

74. Next Assignment Due: 11:59am on Friday (Apr 3)
Send the to
Your five themes after finishing the StrengthsFinder test in any of the following books:
‘StrengthFinder 2.0’, by Tom Rath, Gallup Press
‘Now, Discover Your Strengths’ by Marcus Buckingham & Donald Clifton, Free Press
‘위대한 나의 발견 강점 혁명’, 마커스 버킹엄 지음, 청림출판