I have successfully founded and launched 2 airlines, was on the team of a third, written business plans and analysis for 2 others and been part of the team that launched an electronics group for Hughes Aircraft. I have learned some things about what it takes to be an entrepreneur. Anybody who ventures into the turbulent waters of starting up a business must be willing to sacrifice something, but knowing what that something is is the real exercise. It may be money, family, pride, or time. But, think about putting a limit on that price of sacrifice.

Part of the formula for being a ‘founder/entrepreneur’ is to set realistic (compromised) goals. What is realistic? Most it is dictated by economic or social environment or financial or competition. Whatever the approach it for sure is a trade off. Just like there is no perfect automobile; it is mostly about compromising performance against price points and perceived value for the consumer.

One of the first compromises is to decide if you want to go it alone or as an entrepreneurial effort-within an existing corporate entity. A division, or it could be referred to as a ‘biz dev’ play. If it is your idea it become a tough decision. In this case greed and pride are big factors. Said another way, would you rather have a small piece of something or 100% of nothing if it doesn’t get started? It is a compromise.

If you cannot or decide not to raise start-up funding via an IPO, PPO, VC, or personal funding, one alternative may be to sell the business concept to a company. Companies tend to move somewhat lethargic and you must consider what value adds you bring to the table. In such case you need to consider how apt is the project to be implemented without you on the team. Protecting the idea is difficult.

But, your selected funding course must also be weighed against the “shopped deal” factor. Business plans do not get better with age. So set the course, persevere and make corrections as dictated.

Perseverance now will test your mettle. Perseverance is a complex subject for it comprises elements of sheer will of character, a controlled fixation on both success and failure simultaneously, a determination not to be a failure, a belief in self and a will to master the task. That task in this case is the creation of business. In business the measure of success is usually money and that is the business of enterprise/entrepreneurs.

Mature perseverance is also knowing when to say now is not the time. Perseverance also goes before stupidity. Knowing when perseverance approaches stupidity is an art of reading and hearing the signals. “The signals” come is the form of relationships of past experiences that are tested against your subliminal data base, comments from mentors and associates, advise from those who have gone before you also called history and the list can go on.

But what is the antenna to receive “the signals”? Basically, it is experience in business. Also, it is experiences that come primarily from failures. Failures are much more impact, insightful and reflective. I have often said most everybody handles good news very well. It is an innate skill. What requires skill is properly handling bad news and no news.

In a start-up, I want my team to be people with a lot of diverse experiences. Most always that come from age.

Let’s look at some examples. In the late 1990’s the go go Internet era came to a sudden halt. The Globe had a meteoric rise in stock prices in a matter of weeks that lasted for about 6 months and then reality set in. The rising stars, young people in their late 20’s who founded The Globe, were faced with having no experience running a public company, a company burning through cash as fast as it could be printed, no depth of management, etc. There is probably with an even longer list of issues, but the point remains that multi-faceted experience was not imbued upon this management team.

Well, so far we know perseverance is critical in getting a company started. But that is also part of commitment, an inherent desire or pride and willingness to accept risk (or failure).

Experience for the start-up team can be acquired via hiring, education, and/or having accomplished a task that is related to a start-up enterprise.

I assume by definition that quality experience is tantamount to being a function of time. This is not to say age is the determinant of valuable time. In all endeavors the ‘Law of Diminishing Returns’ sets in. After a point new skills learned (experiences) do not add that great of incremental value. Cutting to the chase, I am saying in becoming and entrepreneure get experiences fast and a myriad of experiences.

Now if perseverance is supported with experience what other personal attributes add value to a decision to start-up a company? Persona/charisma, right place right time, communication skills, similar start-ups that failed, etc. all need to be subjectively addressed.

From the Series of Speeches given at Biola University Business School on Business Development