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What Type of Entrepreneur Are You?
01 de March de 2022
When we are able to fully know ourselves, we are rarely wrong about our purpose — Madame de Staël.
There are many types of entrepreneurs in this world — as many as there are types of people. But, actually, many characteristics are repeated across these types, which allows us to group them into different profiles. In this article, you will find some of the most common types of entrepreneurs, followed by examples.
An entrepreneur’s journey is always full of challenges, but knowing yourself, your weaknesses and strengths, and being able to act accordingly, is the first step towards reaching success. Discover the most common characteristics among entrepreneurs and find out what type of entrepreneur you are.
The Visionary
Visionary entrepreneurs are very self-confident. It’s thanks to that confidence that they are able to trust in future opportunities and long term projects without the fear of taking risks. Visionaries have dreams but, unlike the others, they take action in order to fulfil them. The main characteristic of this type of entrepreneurs is that they don’t invest in projects that are going to be profitable in the present, but rather those that will be so in the future.
Example: One name instantly comes to mind when we’re talking about visionary entrepreneurs: Elon Musk — CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors. In his quest to bring us closer to the future, he has revolutionised the markets, having his mind always set on what’s going to become essential in our lives.
The Influencer
These types are known for their capacity to exert influence on others. They have a knack for convincing people, which makes them innate leaders. Their role inside a start-up is not so much coming up with new ideas, but rather encouraging others so that they can carry them out and motivate them to get them to give their best. They also find it easy to attract new clients and collaborators for different projects.
Example: Ernest Shackleton was an Anglo-Irish polar explorer whose persuasive capacities and leadership skills were so great that, even letting people know about the little chances of coming back alive from his expedition, he managed to recruit 28 explorers.
The Innovator
Creativity is one of the main characteristics of these profiles. Ideas run wild in their mind and most of those ideas are groundbreaking. Innovators question everything and they are keen observers. Their main goal is usually to improve people’s life and, in order to achieve that, they never stop trying out their ideas, correcting them and trying again.
Example: Steve Jobs. This computer genius took technology to a whole new level thanks to his creativity.
The Opportunist
Opportunist entrepreneurs are constantly observing and analysing the market and, when they see an opportunity, they go for it. One of their most common characteristics is that they find solutions where others only see problems. The market’s needs are their target; the solutions for these needs are their chances to make a benefit.
Example: Larry Page and Sergey Brin saw an opportunity to improve Internet searches using links. The solution? Creating Google.
The Multi-Ventures
There are many entrepreneurs that fix on one idea or project. However, there are others, like the multi-venture entrepreneurs, that do exactly the opposite. Multi-venture entrepreneurs take on different projects, which gives them the peace of knowing that, even when one may fail, there’s always the financial support of the others. But, beware! They also have to face challenges… Focusing on many projects at the same time can be really hard.
Example: Pablo Sanagustín, a multi-venture entrepreneur that, by the age of 35, had already created 12 companies in the energy saving sector.
The Investor
These profiles want to put their money into creating profit through pioneering projects. Investor entrepreneurs are capable of detecting good and bad opportunities and are not limited to only one project — they can become funding partners of different start-ups in their quest for profit. But don’t get me wrong. These profiles don’t only put in the money; their experience in different projects is useful to provide advice in the newer ones.
Example: Masayoshi Son. SoftBank’s CEO is always on the lookout for promising start-ups to invest in. A good example of his success and sharp eye is that, fourteen years ago, he invested 20 million dollars in an e-commerce platform. Today, we know it as Alibaba.
The Chance Entrepreneur
Being in the right place at the right time has gotten these types of entrepreneurs where they are now. Even though becoming an entrepreneur wasn’t in their plans, they’ve found themselves in the game. But, this is no negative characteristic. Chance entrepreneurs have a great capacity to adapt to change and to make the most of the stepbacks that may come their way. That’s why they are where they are. Chance entrepreneurs turn weaknesses into strengths and their lack of experience makes them take a more proactive approach.
Example: There are infinite stories about chance entrepreneurs. But, undoubtedly, the most famous one comes from the world of cinema: when Forrest Gump cleans the mud on his face with a towel and sees the smiley face, he bumps into a business opportunity that would make him rich.
The Social Entrepreneur
No. This one isn’t about entrepreneurs who have many contacts. The goal of social entrepreneurs is to change the world. They tackle social problems and try to find solutions with ideas that go beyond financial interests. If empathy and social awareness are your main characteristics, you’re already halfway towards becoming a social entrepreneur.
Example: Innova Materials is an initiative created by engineering students from the US. Their idea is to create pipes that eliminate bacteria from water and improve its quality. They also use a percentage of their income to give support to research for the purification of water across the world.
The Specialist
Specialist entrepreneurs are known for their elevated knowledge on a particular area. These types of entrepreneurs make the most of their studies in order to stand out above the rest of the competitors in the sector. It’s the most technical profile of them all.
Example: Preston Tucker was a man who had worked for car companies all his life, until one day he decided to venture on his own with all his knowledge and create his own car.