Dr Jeff Cornwall

It is always interesting to see what issues catch people’s attention. The Wall Street Journal ran a story on serial entrepreneurs that generated several e-mails to me about this topic. From this article:

In 2000, Mr. Stewart published a study with two other researchers looking for common traits among serial entrepreneurs — which he defined as those who had owned and operated three or more businesses. Of the 664 entrepreneurs studied, only 12% fit the bill. But those who did scored higher in all three categories examined: They had a higher propensity for risk, innovation and achievement. They were less scared of failure. And they were more able to recover when they did fail.
Beyond that, many serial-preneurs bring tactical advantages from their first venture to apply the second and third time around. For instance, they recruit top talent from their original companies to subsequent ventures. They double-dip financially, getting money — and connections — from people who backed their earlier brainstorms. Several lean heavily on a trusted partner for financial, professional and emotional support in whatever endeavor they undertake.

This was our experience with the health care ventures that we started in the 1980s and early 1990s. With each venture we started we learned from our successes and missteps. We became more confident in our ability to execute. There is much talk of the learning curve within a new type of business, but I am convinced that there is a start-up learning curve that cuts across specific businesses and brings down the time and cost of any new start-up you pursue. We also built a reputation that helped attract talent and resources.
By the way — I want to thank the Journal for creating links that allow free access to such articles for bloggers to use for their readers. This has opened up more of their content to those beyond their subscribers.