Harvard Business Publishing

Thank, Noam - I related to your article. I finally made that move after thinking about and waiting for the right time, leaving a 50K people/$12B sales company, good career opportunities, and some fantastic people behind. Its never the best time - is it? Yes, there are excuses everyday to delay. I think the individual needs to believe in the desire to create something, know that he/she possess the skills (and I am not sure if one needs to be Jack of All Trades), build inner commitment towards the goal of becoming an entrepreneur, and at the right time (whatever right means for each of us -- for some planning is required) take the leap of faith and go. World's a big place - and the company you leave is not the end of the world.

Once out - the world looks different, noise all around you suddenly stops and settles, and you do ask yourself, should I have done this earlier? At that moment, just smile to yourself and move on...because the risks are still there facing straight at you, and there's a lot of work yet to be done. Giddy up!

Great article! Mr. Nalls is a man who is driven and believes in his dreams! Without risk there are no rewards.

Thanks a lot ...i am also waiting to take the plunge ..trying to accumulate some money and gain some more expertise ..at 40 i have decided to venture own my own

It is no longer necessary to make any leap between a salaried job and an owned venture. It is possible to start careers in freelance writing, citizen journalism, realty,and stock investing, amongst other options, and enjoy the best of both worlds. Start a second career as soon as possible, and plan to transit from early retirement in to a venture that becomes a significant material inheritance for descendants.

Mille grazie for a great article on making the leap! The best advice I ever got was to "just do it" and do it now! It is true that there will never be the perfect time to start. What's important is to understand your position vis-a-vis the idea itself, the market, competitors, and, most importantly, available resources. Sometimes, a competitive advantage can be LACK of resources as it makes every decision one that warrants serious consideration. Likewise, lack of resources causes a focus on efficiency and innovation. This Porter theory has really be true to us so far and we are fortunate to have to be creative and efficient in our delivery. It is also true that more capital would be nice too:-)

Thanks again for a great article!

thanks for raising such an important topic.the best or right time is when you see a right opportunity.time doesn't matters.indivisual can see opportunity at 21 or later.what matters is when you get insight to do it.one can explore and discover in the early stage of their career..

I THINK THAT FROM THE BEGINNING,OF YOUR BUSINESS LIFE YOU HAVE TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR.TO ORGANISE A HIGH LEVEL OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS FOR SURE DIFFICULT BUT IT IS ALSO FOR SURE MORE CREATIVE.ENTREPRENEURSHIP FITS TO THE MEN THAT HAVE ''GOOD STOMACH'' AND GREAT HEART.

I completely couldn’t digest the idea of becoming ‘self-reliant jack-of-all-trades’ for new ventures. You can counter argue it being a relative term for individuals who are raring to go. But in reality, it’s a constant for every individual and directly contributes towards the success on a scale of -10 to +10. The worst part, it can only be concluded never predicted by oneself.
I had a chance to work for a startup, during my rookie days in the IT industry. It seemed our boss was making all right decisions backed up with the funding of an angle investor. But the company could not survive the blow of mediocre strategies, poor marketing, not so right decisions and .com burst.
I also think that the below zero success was because of the fact that the product was for IT network security and no client wanted to fall victim of the blame game of the aftermath of the virus infection or cyber attacks on their company’s IT infrastructure. This thought too was not well understood by the sales team, to counter it.
Since our boss was actively involved in all activities and decision making. So I think the entrepreneur should be jack of all trades, master of many, and then some more.

I completely couldn’t digest the idea of becoming ‘self-reliant jack-of-all-trades’ for new ventures. You can counter argue it being a relative term for individuals who are raring to go. But in reality, it’s a constant for every individual and directly contributes towards the success on a scale of -10 to +10. The worst part, it can only be concluded never predicted by oneself.
I had a chance to work for a startup, during my rookie days in the IT industry. It seemed our boss was making all right decisions backed up with the funding of an angle investor. But the company could not survive the blow of mediocre strategies, poor marketing, not so right decisions and .com burst.
I also think that the below zero success was because of the fact that the product was for IT network security and no client wanted to fall victim of the blame game of the aftermath of the virus infection or cyber attacks on their company’s IT infrastructure. This thought too was not well understood by the sales team, to counter it.
Since our boss was actively involved in all activities and decision making. So I think the entrepreneur should be jack of all trades, master of many, and then some more.

Norm, All I can say is that after starting my business part time before taking the leap out of a large corporate position, my only regret was not going full time from the beginning. Lesson learned: I now ask myself four questions to help me make a decision. What will happen if I do? What will happen if I don't? What won't happen if I do? What won't happen if I don't.
Great topic. Thanks.

Camille Macchio

- The attitude of the direct boss will have very big effects .
- The unqualifeid direct boss ; need too much efforts to let him be sure that the success for him first .
- I prepare research and comments about CRITICAL MANAGEMENT .

Yes, committing to starting a business takes passion, dedication & courage to walk away from what's safe & secure. But most of all entrepreneurs must overcome their fears of what could go wrong. What's the worst that can happen... even if it doesn't work out, you've learnt some important new skills & gained further insight into the world around you, yourself & others. You'll be more capable & effective in whatever you choose to do moving forward. Great ideas & skills are just the start of a new venture... courage to face the unknown & commmitment to carry through on what you've started are perhaps what make the chase of entrepreneurial success most challenging yet fulfilling.

Hi,
some thoughts after having made the jump 12 years ago to become a one-man-band consultant in an industry area where I had a lot of experience, knowledge, and network. Whilst this may be not strictly what you are looking for, I have thought about it a lot over 12 years, and perhaps the thoughts are useful.
1. The change from having a support structure around you to doing it all your self is profound. it seems pretty simple before the jump, when you consider just the thinhgs like office support, IT support, etc, etc, but you come to realise how important the social contact is around the coffee machine, and the amount of work that gets done "socially" and the value of having quality poeople provide casual (and sometimes not so casual) input as thoughts, plans, and activities are developed and executed.
2. Th greatest task is to orqanise your time. I have 3 jobs: create the IP, sell the IP, deiver the IP. Splitting my time across these tasks, where I perform to very different levels, and have strong preferences about how the time is spent, is very hard. I cannot do 3 things at once, I struggle at 2.
3. The freedom is wonderful!! I could not go back and be a corporate hound again. My income is substantially lower than it was 12 years ago (there have been 2 years in the 12 where I did better than corporate) but the intellectual and personal freedom is irreplaceable. I only work with people I like, respect, and in circumstances where I know I can add value. Can't put a price on that.

Hope that is useful,
Cheers

Allen Roberts

This is a fantastic "food for thought" article. I threw away a dream job heading the IT group for a major corporation to embark on a journey which I believe will be far more satisfying and rewarding for me from a personal fulfillment standpoint. In the course of my work coaching and counseling management in organizations, I have come across individuals who started their companies just after finishing school and have also come across individuals who have started their own setups after retirement and I have seen both types of parties being successful or failing, so not sure what is the right experience as compared to what is the right aptitude, ideas, implementation plans the individual possesses in terms of driving success.
Not sure if the CEO has to be a jack of all trades as if you surround yourself with good talent and each of you complement each other in terms of area of expertise, then I believe you have a ball game to play.

Dear Noam,
Your article was interesting. I have been in the IT industry for more than 20 years and always wanted to start my own ...but all the legit reasons you mentioned hold me from 'go for it'...

I think for people in good corporate jobs it is very difficult to make the decision to start your own. I could not have made the switch had it not been for the Management decision to close some tech centers and outsource to my home country India. I got a good severance package from my employer which was good enough to start my own venture in India!

The enterprenuership idea was always there but I needed a trigger - which came in the form off lay-off and money associated with that!

I do not fully agree with the idea that you have to be jack off all trades. It is true in start-up you need to do a variety of jobs because you are probably the only one and you need money to hire professionals.

Secondly, though I am an IT professional, I have chosen a totally different Industry - I found the right people with right skills as partners - it was kind of an opportunity waiting for me!

Cheers,

Sanjay

hi,
having your own startup after a long corporate lifestyle is pretty tough but it brings in the appropriate professional experience and business networking for having ones own startup. thus i consider the time frame of stage 1. high interest+ less knowledge
2. high interest+ high knowledge
3. less interest+ high knowledge
4. less interest+ less knowledge
thus for starting a new organisation a person has to be in middle of his second and third stage when he starts loosing interest in his present role and had a new bussiness idea.

i have a case study supporting my opinion. it is of My dad, who after his grad worked for 15 years in corporate & govt. organisation with MBA in his kitty after a work ex of 7 years started this organisation. thus i observe a right mix of confidence, self motivation and knowledge in him.

regards,
akshay aggarwal

Good trigger . Almost everyone in mid career must be thinking of this. One should know his plus and minus and amount of risk one can take. Some seed capital assistance and own money for one year survival is good enough.

But one must undertake with all serious and earnest . Well said you no longer have a HR.acct or IT guy the way you are used to. You must know something of every thing.

Above all LUCK!

I agree: "Long tenures in corporate jobs keep you from becoming the self-reliant jack-of-all-trades that a new venture requires." That's just the description of my work. You need to be an all-in-one person. I am in a start-up company now. I am managing editor but I have to do everything from recruiting, IT support, marketing to strategy making. People who are used to doing their PART of work are hard to survice. The skills are quite different. You need to know many PARTS of things and you need to work much harder by creating things from nothing.

Agree to your inputs.

However I feel that embarking on such a journey is also your inner motivation and personality. Those who love to face challenges and to take risks are having greater probability of starting such ventures later in their carreer.

We should not forget that this is the reason why HR people find it very difficult to keep hold of such personalities.

Jack-of-all-trades does not even begin to describe it. If I had a job description it would read designer, merchandiser, sales team, manufacturer, IT specialist, international trend spotter, raw material sourcing, traveller, outsourcing, importer, exporter, driver, mechanic and if need be cleaner. And my staff have very similiar job descriptions. I think all it takes is a healty ''Can do'' attitude and that is the basis on which I employ staff.

Is corporate exposure required? Yes, go serve your corporate sentence, and the right time to break away is the day you realize your learning curve is hitting the point of diminishing returns.

Hi,

The article was really an eye opener for someone like me. However, my problem is different. I am already a jack of certain trades. Graduated from civil engg i joined an IT company. Though I have varied ideas across various domain (even small intiatives) I couldnt materialise on that because of fear of incompetency in those fields. Though the salary i am currently earning is not that lucrative but It would be diasterous if i couldnt able to make something equivalent in my new intiatives.

In a nutshell, it the few that holds me back. (could be one of those legit reasons).

Any suggestions, how could i over come this state.

thanks,

Yes, I agree. Following the harvard guidelines i decided to run my own company in parallel with working in a big company. In addition I have to say that there is also a great personal and psicological benefit by running my own company. Infact during this double-timing phase i became much more focused both in my managerial role and my start-up. I started with big-thinking and high level consideration and, at the end of the day i forget all those stupid and time consuming discussion about internal politics.

So i feel good, even if i am not a billionar... yet ;-)

Thanks to Harvard knowledge sharing and crossfertilization initiatives

Well today is my birthday, 40. And I am just finishing year 1 of my own venture. I have professional investment backing. A product in its infancy. Two large clients and a dozen smaller ones and a lot in the pipe.

So that mean I have that CEO title, and I was sweeping floor this morning. Its 3:30AM and I am still at work, for the 2 all nigher this week. I don't have enough people, time or energy to deal with all the daily problems - like making a Costco run to get more printer paper.

Yes the hours are arduous, my customers more demanding than the most incompetent boss I have ever had. My pay is paltry and I sometime need give it back. The work environment is less desirable than my college dorm room.

But, the second half of my career looks so good from here!

Good motivation, I have been thinking of starting something of my own too and like the article said, these things have held me back. Maybe this serves as a trigger for me.

Personally i believe in planning ahead before venturing out, though i know it doesn't eliminate all the risks involved but i guess it creates an awarness of it and somehow gives you the comfort feeling that you are in control...........whatever that means!!!!!!!!

Thanks for this article. For 35 years the company I work with existed as a group of independent contractors pulling together. Now, we are part of a multi-national corporation. In one year the change has been astonishing. I cannot say they have been good, but definitely astonishing. The feelings of freedom, control, family, and future have been replaced by feelings of being trapped, isolated, and stuck. The biggest differences were made in my position which was one of contribution and activity to one of managing and reporting.

If in doubt add this to your though process. Your BRIGHT NEW IDEA will not be so bright and new the longer you wait. In todays business enviornment everyone is looking for that edge. Your greatest asset and advantage is to seize the moment and go for it. The time spent in corporate life is just another tenure until that BIG LIGHT BULB goes on and you decide, "Hey, I can do that better and provide the type of service to others that I've been looking for. Forrest Barnes

Everybody,
very interesting such article because i'm living a time in my life where most of the biggest and most successful entrepreneurs started their self-leaded companies. However i am feeling like a chicken...i don't know where and how to invest, my finances are not that good (I MEAN IT!) and i have little kids who need care attention...so i'm in a crossroad and do not know where should i go...that's my point. First of all we need to know and to balance how is our lives, where should i go in the actual status and principally what and where are the opportunities! If you, like me, do not know how to answer these questions or even resolve some of the problems shown, do not step out of your shelter-small-payer-job!
Take care!

To the point thinking! Our experience here in the UK (this year 3000 plus start-ups aged 50 plus will come to my seminars presented on behalf of H.M. Revenue & Customs) is that the corporate world creates too much of a comfort blanket for its people and limits the all-round skills you need as a start-up. Therefore it is important that, before you make the jump, you take some form of "skillset analysis" to address any shortcomings. Jumping in without doing so could be costly and dangerous.

Another key area is that many corporates drain their people of confidence. I see many at the seminars who would like to start a business but, because of the constraint of corporate procedures and the lack of personal motivation within them,need encouragement and to be simply told they can do it!
Malcolm Gallagher, Northumberland, UK

Take the plunge, but wear a life vest! In my mid forties I ventured out, and after spending over twenty years in the corporate world, discovered the value of multi-tasking. Since then I have worked with leaders in small to mid-size enterprises, and they all share common traits that make them successsful.

The first is FOCUS. They have a BIG idea and they pursue it relentlessly.

The second is AUTHENTICITY. They don't try to fake it...potential investors and customers can smell a fake a mile away. That's not to say that they don't push their ideas strongly and take risks. They do, and that's what makes other leaders pay attention to them.

The third trait is COURAGE. They jump in and make things work. They don't sit back and wait for things to change...they don't walk the trodden path, they make new paths.

The fourth trait is EMPATHY. They are great listeners, always seeking to understand where others, including the competition, their employees, their customers and their investors/suppliers are coming from. But they don't get stuck just passively listening. They know that the world moves at its own pace, which brings me to the fifth trait...

TIMING: these leaders move with appropriate speed. They don't move fast because some consultant has sold them on the advantages of speed. They know they have 'gears', and they work up and down those gears depending on the demands of each situation.

Cheers...and best wishes for a successful venture, should you decide to take the leap!

Thanks for the nice article, Noam.

It scared me (in a nice way) that you used the exact same words I normally use when describing what brings the most satisfaction in any type of work I execute: building something from nothing. I like doing it and I am very good at it.

Took me several years and a lot of soul-searching to be able to understand this "craving" and clearly pin-point this characteristic in my personality. Since that moment, each day I feel much closer to build something from nothing for myself now.

You are correct: build something from nothing requires a different skill set and for too long it concerned me why I was different from my big-corporate team-mates...After my discovery, however, I realized I could not have more pride in being what I am.

Your article validates my findings.

I think that starting up is not an easy decision when you are with a well structured and secured company but the good thing that i got a very nice feedbacks from many friends who started up thier own,they think they were wasting thier time before starting up ,now im more convinced that i need to go ahead ,it needs an analysis to the market,competitores and to choose unique products to start with.

The work / career environment where I live in is such that
- big organizations like to hire young people because they are cheaper and more teachable.
- at age 40 you are considered old and will have difficulty looking for jobs.

I found this out when I was 25. Since then, I’ve been thinking about starting my own business especially when working hard or smart in any company may not guarantee a job.

I’m now 33 and working for a not-for-profit organization. I have been running my own business for almost a year. My salary is not anywhere near my friends’ who work in MNCs. However, with my business, I hope to double my income and catch up next year. The good thing is that I can attempt to grow my business to earn more, whereas my salaried friends do not have this luxury.

The things that helped me with setting up of my business are
- A fairly flexible time at my day job.
- Correctly identifying a potential market with repeat customers.
- Willingness to learn new things, do mundane work and be hands on.
- Willingness to sacrifice personal and family time (at least for a period of time).
- Interest in management.
- The need to provide for my children's uni education (it will only get more expensive).
- Supportive wife!

My feel is that with every 10 new businesses, perhaps less than 1 will still be around after ten years, so a modest standard of living will be the order of the day till I am financially free.

I may not be a big fish in big pond (eg. Eric Schmidt) but I can work towards being a bigger fish in a smaller pond.

THANKS! Noam. Such a realistic insight which may inspire the 'Sleeping Enterpreneur' within, assisting in taking the right 'Decision'. The moment you decide to come out of your 'Comfort Zone' with 'Calculated Risk' is the 'RIGHT TIME'.

Prabhat Garg
Director
Ozone Energy Solutions
Chandigarh-INDIA

Attn : Mr. Noam Wasserman,

Good day ! I have read your article on the above subject with much interest and sure agree with you on the comments and thought of sharing some thoughts. I am a medium sized Entrepreneur who ventured into a start up of my own way back 10 years ago at the Age of 37 years.

I started my carrier in a leading Shipping Agency / Logistics company in Sri Lanka as a trainee and gradually navigated through the company ranks and rose to the level of General Manager. In between I in fact left the company (after 7 years to join another company in the same sector) and re joined my original company after 1.5 years.

I served this company for nearly 16 years, and was very comfortable with the surroundings and position, there was no need to look out. However I had a small disagreement on a policy matter with the Managing Director who was my Mentor / Teacher right from the day one I joined this group. Some how I was not happy with the stance he took here (relating to my carrier promotion issue) and I left the group in disappointment.

Since I was out of a job and had no plans I found a job and left to UAE, which I did not like very much. After a 19 month stint I returned to the country and had two job offers, including from my previous employer. Another option I had was to start a company with another senior in the Shipping industry, but was clearly told that the baby is mine and he will be only a silent partner being in his retiring age.

After discussions with my family and some thought, I took the challenge and the difficult path of teaming up as the Managing partner for the start up, instead of the more secure Job offers from the two established groups.

It sure was a real experience where I had to start from scratch and initially as a one man store. As you say earlier I had the priviledge of so many Managers to handle various aspects of business but here I am on my own to overlook all tasks. As a start up I could no afford the luxury of having so many Managers. It was a very big Learning curve for me. That’s when I really learnt that I sure can BUILD THE CRANK, not just keep it turning.

I managed through the development stages, and today after 10 years have a team of 55 staff, with 3 associate companies. Please see the web site www.pslship.com for details of my company. More than money what I enjoy today is the FREEDOM to think, act and do what I feel is right without being questioned. If something goes wrong I face it and when it goes right, I enjoy and cherish it.

So I can strongly recommend to all those aspiring Entrepreneur’s TODAY IS THE TIME, don’t wait for tomorrow. All you need is an IDEA THAT SPARKS, and then a Commitment and a Passion for same. Basic / common sense business concepts whilst a higher learning like an MBA will boost up.

In fact I am doing my Masters in Business Studies at the Colombo University only now. Finishing at the end of this year. When I started I had only high school education and a Business Management Diploma also from the Colombo University.

B. Rgds
Rohitha

Thanks for an interesting article. I agree with you and as an entrepreneur with 15 years of corporate experience, I can give you personal reasons why working for a company of more than say 50 people is poor training for starting a business. Don't get me wrong, it's necessary for learning critical skills and how certain businesses actually run, but it's poor preparation for entrepreneurship. Let me offer concrete example why.

In a reasonably sized company, money is allocated from a budget and however arduous that process may be, provided the company is in good standing that money is available and it's cost is measured as a cost of capital. Whether it's 5%, 10% or 15%, it's still pretty cheap.

For an entrepreneur, money either comes from personal investment (self, friends or family) or from customers. The best place to get money is from customers. Few people in larger companies think about this or have to deal with the limitations of money just not being there.

Unfortunately, a generation of entrepreneurs has grown up and/or been trained to get money, or look to get money, from Angels or VCs. There is nothing inherently wrong with this, but one better understand what they are doing. If you take money from these sources, you better understand what leverage means. Angels and VCs invest money with the expectation of getting a 10X return (or something there about) To get their money, you better pitch and position your company in a way that you can achieve this type of growth. That means you better understand how leverage works.

Leverage means that if you buy a PC for $1,000 it has actually costs $10,000. You better have a plan to make whatever that PC produces worth $10,000. Anything you spend money on better offer returns in excess of your leverage costs.

There is nothing in the corporate world where the cost of capital is 5 to 15% that prepares one to operate in the world of 10X leverage.

The flip side is, you better not be stupidly cheap with that money either. Trying to save a couple grand by nickle-n-dimeing a talented developer so that they walk out the door is stupidity incarnate. You ought to be able to leverage their production 20 to 100X.

Next, an entrepreneurial firm must grow revenues. To work in an entrepreneurial firm, you must know how to grow revenues or you must learn. If you are self funding, you can do this and learn as you go along. Once you take investment capital, you better understand that the investors now own your company. They may be patient and allow you one misstep, it is unlikely they will be patient after your second mistake.

As you point out in your article, there is a difference between operating effectively within a structure and building a structure. There are also important personality differences between people who effectively operate within a structure and those who can operate with no structure. When you're working in a business, there's a lot of structural support, people to talk to and security. When you are starting your own business, there is ambiguity.

The larger an organization is, the more structure is built to remove ambiguity and to increase organizational efficiency. In a start up, one must be willing to accept inefficiency as part of the process of resolving ambiguity and maximizing the benefits of flexibility. You cannot resolve ambiguity and think about efficiency. Efficiency only comes after you've resolved the ambiguity enough that you're willing to trade off flexibility for greater efficiency. That is a very difficult concept for someone to deal with coming out of a structured corporation.

One final thing I'll point out that I learned. When you go away from a structured environment, you lose all the support that environment provides. I'm not talking about business structure, I'm talking about personal structure. Starting your own business, you'll have to deal with your personal and greatest weaknesses at exactly the moment you are the weakest. If you cannot deal with that and/or your business doesn't have enough runway to get through it, you're likely to be your own worst enemy.

There are many other things that can trip an entrepreneur up. Accounting and tax laws, creating corporate structures, partners, patent expenses vs benefits, finding price points where customers buy but the expense of servicing them doesn't kill you, sustainability, general economic condition and things that can happen that are completely unexpected.

On that last note, a previous, successful and optimistic business was destroyed when someone flew a couple of airplanes into a couple of buildings. An entrepreneur or someone working in a start up better be able to personally, financially and professionally handle the fact that the business can do the right things, have a growing, happy customer base and revenues and still get wiped out by something completely out of your control. It is hard to see how you can get prepared for that when you're working in an established corporation.

I have it all! After 39 years in the corporate world where I worked my way from a copy typist to an Executive Director with more quAlifications than you can imagine, I have just launched my own Executive Coaching business. Every 5 years of my career I considered Is this the time to go it alone? My answer was always I had more to learn and choose to stay on my corporate path but changed what and who I worked for. In later years this was also mixed with the ultimate financial goal of achieving mortgage freedom! I had made all the plans to walk away in 2010 and do my own thing. I didn't count on a major catalyst of ill health. I quickly came to realise that if I was to achieve my heart's desire it had to be now. I aupport rhw the jack of all trade theory but this experience has come with the freedom to create my own style, choose who I want to work with and the opportunity to meet fabulous new people who share the passion of being an entreprenaur. My business relationships are proving invaluable and I certainly don't feel I am going it alone. I also have grown up kids who are falling over themselves to help and support me. Do I regret not doing it earlier, absolutely not. My learnings and experience have made me who I am.

Dear Noam

I read your article with interest and I will try to go to the point directly.

I am creating my own consultancy firm after spending 28 years in the corporate life of the pharmaceutical industry. Due to the downsizing in the industry these days , this was a great opportunity to switch the gear and do something different. The message here is do we need to anticipate and take such a decision earlier ? I would say no as long as we were on a moving ascending curve learning things and creating networks . Risks need to be measured. Nevertheless I encourage people to do it after gaining enough experience ( say between 10 to 15 years in their industry).

Now to do it my experience tells me that you 3 key attributes ( besides good health):
1) Tenacity
2) Patience
3) Measured risk taker..since you need to ensure a certain level of income in the interim phase of launch

But i would say go for it as it liberates you completely and brings out to the surface your natural personality that was submerged and framed while in the corporate envoirnment. You feel a lot better .
Regards
Reda

Noam Wasserman responds:

Thank you to everyone who contributed insights and stories about your own experiences! To pull things together across all of the comments (at least the ones submitted by 9/14), I thought I would highlight some of the common themes across them.

First and foremost, Happy 40th, Wellman! Your story vividly captures the trade-offs involved in making the leap -- both the challenges induced by getting a venture off the ground, and the optimism that it will all be worth it in the end.

Barry Nalls’s comments in the original article seemed to resonate with people, and people even anticipated some of Barry’s other comments that I didn’t quote (but which are in the fuller case study about him). For instance, Azhar Rafee says that after leaping, “You do ask yourself, should I have done this earlier?” Likewise, in the opening line of the case study, Barry asks, “Boy, I wish I had become an entrepreneur long ago! Why did I wait so long?”

As of this writing, the poll results show that 86% of respondents say you should make the leap within the first 10 years of being at a big company. There is quite a gap between that number and the 76% of founders who actually make the leap in twice that amount of time -- i.e., within 20 years (the data I cite in the post). Although the gap may be due at least partly to differences between the samples, it may also indicate that there is a difference between what people think they ìshouldî do and whether they actually leap.

“JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES”

Interestingly, the biggest point of disagreement within the comments was related to Ed Lazear’s concept of the entrepreneur as a “jack-of-all-trades.” Several stated that it captured their jobs as entrepreneurs. However, others (including Sanjay Kumar Das and Anand Kumar) said the challenge is to find the right partners with complementary skills. Possibly resolving this impasse, yet raising the bar on the entrepreneur’s abilities, Maneesh Gautam extends the concept to say that, “I think the entrepreneur should be jack of all trades, master of many, and then some more.”

OTHER APPROACHES BESIDES “QUIT AND START”

Another consistent theme was the suggestion that there are other “making the leap” approaches beyond what might be called “quit and start.” One of those approaches is a more gradual transition. Dr. Satyabroto Banerji suggested that a “best of both worlds” might be to keep the “salaried job” while starting to pursue entrepreneurial efforts on the side. Camille Macchio followed this approach but in retrospect regrets having done so: “After starting my business part time before taking the leap out of a large corporate position, my only regret was not going full time from the beginning.”

Another approach might be termed “get pushed, then start.” Rohitha Mendis talks of working for 16 years for a company in which he was “very comfortable,” but then having a disagreement with his boss/mentor over “my career promotion issue” which triggered a move out of the company and into entrepreneurship. The experiences of Sanjay Kumar Das suggest one reason why being pushed can be an advantage: severance pay can give you a cushion as you launch a new venture. In his own words: “I needed a trigger -- which came in the form of lay-off and money associated with that!”

THE GOOD AND BAD OF BIG COMPANIES

Some people added to the list of challenges introduced by working for a large company. For instance, Andrew Meyer states that people who have worked in a corporate world -- where the cost of capital and the growth hurdles are moderate -- are unprepared for the growth demands they face as entrepreneurs when they raise money from professional investors who want 10X returns on their money. He states that they have also gotten used to “trying to save a couple grand by nickel-n-diming a talented developer,” whereas in a startup, that person’s contributions might help you achieve the fast growth you need. Finally, he says, “The larger an organization is, the more structure is built to remove ambiguity and to increase organizational efficiency,” making corporate veterans less able to deal with the ambiguity that is rampant in startups.

However, leaving a big company means leaving its social and financial support. For instance, Meyer himself states that once you leave, “you’ll have to deal with your personal and greatest weaknesses at exactly the moment you are the weakest.” Allen Roberts describes “the social contact around the coffee machine Ö the value of having quality people provide casual (and sometimes not so casual) input as thoughts, plans, and activities are developed and executed.” More tangibly, others pointed to the financial fall caused by striking out on your own. Sivabaraneedaran K says of his big-company job: “Though the salary I am currently earning is not that lucrative, it would be disastrous if I couldn’t make something equivalent in my new initiatives.” Allen Roberts confirms that, “My income is substantially lower,” yet continues, “the intellectual and personal freedom is irreplaceable.” (Past research of mine has documented and examined the compensation gap between founders and non-founders.)

BACKING OUT

Victoria describes how even if you make the leap and then have to back out and return to corporate life, you may be stronger for having tried: “Even if it doesn’t work out, you’ve learnt some important new skills & gained further insight into the world around you, yourself, & others…courage to face the unknown & commitment to carry through on what you’ve started.”

In conclusion, I thought that one of Brian Ward’s comments can serve as a bottom-line to this discussion: “Take the plunge, but wear a life vest!”

Hi,
Nice post. Enterpreneurship is the yard stick for the development of great nations. As such, i wish to take a company public in the near future. Take care.

May I compliment you, Noam, not for your post above but your comment of 9/14, that summarized what everyone else wrote into a cohesive regurgitation? Like others, I reply to people who leave comments on my blog but I rarely tie things together like you do. That's impressive and that also speaks to Dr. Satyabroto Banerji's notion of merging the best of both worlds.

I also enjoyed reading Brian Ward's comments which speak home to me as I venture forth in my own content creation.

Re: Jack-of-all-trades

It may seem odd to cite western novelist Louis L'Amour in the same sentence as the late Dr. Woodburn O. Ross, founder of the now-dissolved Monteith College at Detroit's Wayne State University.

Both were dedicated generalists who promoted the idea that a person should train themselves to think for themselves, be an auto-didact when the chance presented itself and to be flexible.

LL's many works often feature a hero who puts in a stretch at some grueling form of work to build up enough money to then go do what they want.

"Woody" Ross founded a short-lived but lively college that emphasized a cross-disciplinary approach to learning.

I never met Louis but did enjoy Dr. Ross's urgings to get busy learning how to be the architect of my own life.

Noam, you're right. Each day is a gift to be used to whatever purpose we may.

Noam, this article makes a lot of sense! Having worked as a freelancer in the Film/TV/Commercial industry for 15 years I have never worked in a traditional corporate setting and three years ago launched my first startup, an online video advertising and social marketing agency called SpotZero providing online video creative, production, video seeding and tracking to small, medium and large sized businesses.
After 15 years of directing, comedy writing, art directing, special effects and just about every other position imaginable I truly became a jack of all trades and master of many.

As a result, the transition to entrepreneur was pretty effortless and if anything, as a business owner, I am now ironically drifting toward a more corporate structure for the company to provide consistent and quantifiable results.

I can easily see how going from years of corporate culture and habits to the unpredictable do-it-yourself beginnings of a startup could be a stretch.

Thanks for the article!

David Murdico
Creative Director/partner
http://www.spotzero.com

Thanks for the article! As a young construction project manager, I left the largest engineering and construction firm in the U.S. to start my own firm - 10 years ago. Though my gross revenues will never be the size of the firm I left, I now receive more in profit than the combined total incomes of both the CEO and executive vice president of the firm I left! Hooray for the risk-takers!

Nice thread! Nice summary!I would like to add a comment though.I think -from a psychological perspective-that one of the common characteristics of successful entrepreneurs is the existence of a drive coming from frustrations.These frustrations might come from diverse sources,e.g.,family,work,friends,experiences...etc.These frustrations are the seeds for that intense need and desire to shine and stretch to prove to oneself and to others that we are up to the challenge and that we can make it on our own without help and that we can be as good as others or even better.This might sound a bit negative but I have observed that many successful entrepreneurs find their impetus from the fact that they come from deprived families,or they have met with frustrating bosses or institutions,or they might have suffered some traumatizing personal experiences in childhood or adulthood.These negative experiences have been turned out and served as engines for entrepreneurial success.This state of affairs challenge some commonly accepted notions about children's education.Some traditional business families leave purposefully their children in a condition of "need" whereby they will never spoil their children even if they could,in order to nurture and keep the flame of ambition and "need" in their children,so they will "prove",they will "do" something, reach out and later on develop the inherited family business. The contrary (spoils system) has also proven to have detrimental effects on children attitude and outlook.It is a question of measure and balance that has helped many family businesses to survive and transmit this entrepreneurial spirit and flame to their siblings.
There might be a lesson to learn out of this.

This article is actually describing the situation I live in at this path of my life...I am 20 years old...studying international business and management in the netherlands...to be honest it is my dream to do my masters at a university such as harvard business school...
i started working in my dads trading company when I was 10...after 7 years I was able to lead that company with its 25 employees and with pretty complex operations, majority of the time dealing with customers...when i told my friends about my first ideas and that I would like to start up my own image,brand, simply my own business...they answered that i need experience over 5 years and things like that...I didnt want to listen to those thoughts so I found my investor who is my cousin and just implemented the first ideas...mainly internet business hence thats the most comfortable one to do besides studies..i think so. i have some contacts in the energy industry in turkey..they need renewable energy and they contemplate to build the first windpark in istanbul...for those kinds of projects I dont feel ready..and powerful...

in three months time I will know whether my ideas will bring fruits and whether I can invest my earning in new projects....what do you think ? am i too young ? is this not the ground basis ? I read lots of different opinions in books and articles...what I have caught till now is that the most important things to become an entrepreneur are : find the right people, inspire and motivate those to work and just feel brave enough to implement...

I hope some professionals among you could give me some suggestions...

In scanning these posting I do not find much conversation about for those with
High Interest in a field
Some solid experience... sufficient to utilize networks of people
Sufficient capital to sleep at night
Buy an existing business.. you do not need to start from scratch.
Lots of Baby Boomers looking to sell their existing businesses..

All,
I have been an entrepreneur for most of my life (started working at various things since I'm 12 yrs. old). I've started and sold several businesses along the way. I've also been "on the inside". Now, having been a consultant (to high profile execs & talent) for many decades, I find that no single job/career fulfills all of a person's needs. And so, it makes sense to simultaneously look at opportunities inside and outside of your "job" to help you attain the highest level of satisfaction possible. People can augment what they do with extracurricular, if you will, careers/businesses. And who says that you need to choose one? I have 4 different businesses running alongside my consulting. It's how you manage them, delegate and execute. My advice? Start yesterday -- at least get your feet wet so you don't kick yourself later.

W A R N I N G - this is going to be a rather lengthy comment;-)

Noam,

Thanks a lot for that great article that strikes right into my very situation, on the edge to become an entrepreneur - A TEAM ENTREPRENEUR.

Being with BMW for the last five years, enjoying a viable and thrilling workforce setting up a new plant in Leipzig and setting up processes together with people remote in distance, department and understanding has been a challenge. A GOOD ONE I WOULDN'T LIKE TO MISS.

I left the "battleship" (or Giant Hairball; also the title of a great book that could be useful for coming and already entrepreneurs) earlier this year setting off to make my dreams true. In the safety of the "battleship" trying out new things (especially around improving processes in a lean thinking manner) is much more comfortable as in free "orbit" and you learn a lot from success and -even more- from your failures.

Accumulation of 10 years of active working experience (not counting another 10 from apprenticeship to internship during university time) have led to that decision.

It's a bit like Otto Scharmer's "Theory U": let go, observe, let the new emerge and prototyp quickly to get to the new!

All too often we are stuck in organizational culture that gives safety and yet we feel an erge to do something different (with a bit unsafety! - it is not a 9 to job!). Have you ever worked on your bike, in the shower, laying near the river, at a conference? There are lots of spaces where the entrepreneur get's his/her energy and business from! A 9-to-5 boss wouldn't see it this way, would he?

So I left the "giant hairball" into "orbit", visited Peter Senge in Boston on a workshop, flew down to the 3rd SoL Global Forum in Oman (there I met really "crazy" people from Team Academy in Finland(!) and lots of other interesting people from all over the globe), as sometime the coincidences come into play I happened to visit Team Academy up in Jyväskylä (three hours north of Finland) and so a new concept of entrepreneurship:

TEAM ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Students over there don't visit classes, no they visit customers on real projects, real money, in between the have with their team company peers (20 students form a team company that acts as an independant company!) dialog sessions with their coaches, the use the SoL (Society for Organizational Learning) network around the globe for help (if needed), finance their "business trips" such as to Oman by their earnings from the companies they are part of.

An interesting concept and while over there I was thinking:

Why not more of that? How about the older guys who have been in businesses for 10, 20 or more years, when the have a dream they would like to come true?

The concept works in a single country, how to manage over the globe? Actual transaction costs sort of hinder that and yet there is WEB 2.0 where some of us already act as KNOWLEDGE WORKERS 2.0.

So what is the WIFM for us?

I guess the fulfiling of our DREAMS as we always wished and in the meanwhile provide benefit to our customers, our local communities, regional economics and last -but not least- our personal life, our family and what we wish to achieve in life.

Sounds a bit crazy for you? It surely did when I met these guys from Team Academy down in Oman asking them who would have paid for their trip. Their answer, "We paid it ourselves. It is a business trip and we run our own company!" It was like a ice-block in 35 degree celsius Omani spring temperature.

Are there other TEAM ENTREPRENEURS around?

I am very curious to get to know you (via Twitter where you will find me under my full name).

Looking forward to further cooperation, perhaps even in an broader action research program on how TEAM ENTREPRENEURSHIP can be the business model of the future.

Cheers,

Ralf

I went in the other direction - sort of. Started running stand up comedy venues in my early 20s - pure entrepreneurism, committing to all the costs each week, and having to work to get the punters to pay for their tickets. I did this to help pay my way through drama school. And learnt a lot in the process.

I did an MBA, part time, in my 30s, and have worked as a freelance consultant in big business ever since, in the areas of communication, behavioural change and strategy implementation; combining business and drama - my two passions.

In my view, the best time to start a new small business is during an economic contraction. Your larger competitors are stuck with boom cost structures and focused on working hard to change them. You, however, arrive with a blank page and a completely unencumbered landscape on which to build business models. Therefore, for you, everything is an opportunity. On that basis, I would argue that tough economic times are the ones that give strategic advantage to the smallest, newest, nimblest players.

You will have to take risks; you will have to make mistakes.

Also in my view, the best way to start a small business is to think first about what makes you happy. So, if you're from a sophisticated commercial background, I recommend looking at the expanding understanding of happiness before you think about which small business you might start. It's not particularly difficult to earn enough money to support a very balanced and fulfilling life. Just be careful which goals you focus on. If you start with a steely determination to grown a mega-business from nothing, then in my view, you're risking everything else in your life to do so. Most people in business now will agree that passion and confidence are very real contributors to success, so go into something where the passion and confidence come naturally.

Ideal places to start: A specific market / product / service goal that motivates you, or even better in my view: A small business as a part of a very specific "perfect life" goal / plan. If you don't lose sight of that goal, it can be amazing to discover just how much freedom and space there is in this world to pursue your real dreams and goals. And that will give you more passion and determination than you might ever have imagined.

This is all written on the assumption that those reading it already have a sound understanding of the rigorous disciplines of accounting, supply and demand, etc. etc.

I think right time, right idea and courage is what one require for entrepreneurship, rest is taken care by time and experience. Just go ahead.

Hi

Motivating article for small entrepreneurs.

Vimal

Start-ups are very challenging and hence rewarding also.But one should have the vision before he step into or else it may be a disaster .

It was January, 2007. I worked for one of the most successful Coca-Cola bottlers in Brazil as an Innovation and Six Sigma senior manager. And I really enjoyed working there, partnering with my team – formed by enthusiastic and committed guys.

It is worth mentioning that contrary to the most entrepreneurs, I never had the itch to start my own business.

But unexpectedly changes started in the company, people were moved from one place to another, new departments were created, other were extinguished and later on, recreated.

As a consequence, a thing turned out to be clear for me, something much more important than the changes that the company was going through: I was not setting the rules, I was not the one behind the wheel and my career was being driven by a group of c-level executives. This was a bit scaring for me, and when I realized that, I knew some big movement would come up as a reaction.

I thought that it is better to risk and to be fully responsible for my decisions in life than try to blame someone else if things do not happen as expected.

Well, if I wanted that level of independence the sooner I started; the sooner things would work properly. So I decided to quit and to start my own business. That is where I am right now, in the very beginning of a new journey called "Floripa Angels".

You dear reader may be asking to you: and what is special about that? The special thing is not about the business itself, or even the product or service this new company will supply to the market. In fact, for me it is the business purpose and the values we are adopting. I understand that values - above all – need to be inspiring and therefore simple. They reflect who we are, how we face life and where we increasingly intend to be. Our core values are five: integrity, discipline, humility, curiosity and humor. We think that a strong determination to pursue these virtues will ultimately take us to excellence. Remember Aristotle, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

Brilliant information, very informative.

kojo bonti- amoako

Noam,

Having jumped the corporate ship just 6 months ago, it has been a liberating experience that I'll never trade. I was in a major Fortune 100 company for 29 years and was was well trained for the jump. I pushed myself to rotate in many different assignments to ensure I had depth in many functions. I'm convinced that everyone at some point in their corporate career wants to captain their own ship, but rationalize why it can't happen (only bread winner, young family, economic downturn, etc.). The only humble advice I can give is: If you're serious about starting or acquiring your own business, then put a plan together and execute against it everyday no matter how tired, frustrated, or risky it may seem. Constancy of purpose will allow you achieve your dream.

Great discussion. I come at this from a different point of view, I started my first venture while I was doing my undergrad and never went into the corporate world and started my third venture while doing an MBA. However, everything I have done before this was preparing me for my current firm, which is by far my most successful. The most interesting thing is that the most valuable people on my team all have at least 10 years of experience at the corporate level and all had quite high level positions. In fact, for all future high level positions I'm likely to have a bias towards people who have had corporate experience, but now want the entrepreneurial experience (it wont be that simple of course). It would be interesting to know which corporation spin off the most entrepreneurs, I see a lot of exIBMers.

bring it on!!

Based upon involvement my in several startups, try to build a knowledge base while in your twenties and thirties so that you will have the real world experience to be sucessful in a new venture. Education wise, specialize in Sales and Marketing, with a focus on market research so that your sales forecasts are accurate. Your sales predictions drive the company budgeting proess. Lack of sales will kill your enterprise and destroy
your dream. Build a team of trusted associates who will fill your short suits. Develop a managerial style which will garner
staff support. Develop financial records system so that financial statements can be produced upon command. Secure a mentor group and compensate them generously. Follow an ethical style which will trickle down to all employees. Plan for a liquidation procedure which will benefit all employes,

I must say that I am awed by all the comments above.

Let me tell you some about my self: I'm 29, married with a 19month daughter, a dependent relative and a very supportive wife. Being a Chartered Accountant I have pooled about 7 years experience working in an audit firm, then a large manufacturing and trading group, then to a senior credit controller in a worldclass airline and then to an oil service company recently.
But deep in my mind, I am not doing what i want to do: I love to control myself, my life, be a worthy asset to my clients and build an empire for my generation. I also know that with this, it is probable..verily that if i put the same amount of energy i do now into my own venture, my personal net earnings would double what my CEO takes home right now.
The problem I see with many of us is the fear of uncertainty, even though I now it is unfounded.
Late 2006, a friend we qualified together invited me to join him in a new but small haulage venture. I thought about it for some days, considered the menial taks involved, relations with the authorities, the capital intensity of it, the absence of prestige an accountant like me would want and the other isuues. Then i declined...but today it is a heartache for me that i declined. my friend is still small, but has a fleet of 8 trucks -the least being 12tons trucks.You would mistake him for an auto engineer, but he is happy with it. He controls his life, his finances, people and the situation. The only set of people who has some little measure on say him is his clients.

As i write to you now, i am on my way to meet a friend. we are planning to set up our joint venture soon.

But I must be quick to add that i've ssen many fail too-too many of them.
So i think that it would be advisable to run one's venture along with his secured job and then gradually pull out to face yours.

What do you think Noam? let me know please.
Comments from others are solicited as well.

Ciao.

Thank you for a thought provoking article. I ventured into a business at 40 failed at 43 and went back to a job having lost everything. I found this interesting at 55 !
I was visiting a business school in India where I was teaching business planning and entrepreneurship. They received 450 business plans this year in a business planning competition. 40 of them found venture capital. The business school was deliberating two for the current students by funding them. Great thought.
With 65% of the students being lateral (with two to 10 years of work experience and back to school for a well paying job post MBA) it is indeed an ideal setting or a mid-step for becoming an entrepreneur. Nearly 300 experienced students on Campus from different industries could provide the Best outsourced manpower for the budding entrepreneurs?
Market Research, Product testing, Teleperformance, Customer Loyalty surveys, Mystery shopper, Editing books, short ad campaigns for TV, Print media are some of the ideas for these where students can earn enough pocket money to pay hostel and mess charges and have first hand experience of CONTRIBUTORS not employees to another colleagues' entrepreneurial venture.

~ GREAT INSIGHT ~

I am knee deep in the HUGE undertaking of forming a start-up!

I've always been self-employed but at a Regional scale.

It was tough to think as BIG as I must for this Global Enterprise.

Just the acceptance to this web program by Harvard is a REWARD.

Knowledge is power if you know what to be reading!

Thank You!