Is there an entrepreneurship gene?

It is no secret that entrepreneurs are the lifeblood of the global economy. By developing new businesses, they create jobs, increase economic activity and drive innovation. Yet despite entrepreneurs positive influence on global prosperity and growth, they remain an often-misunderstood segment of the business world.

As the founders of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Program, the worlds most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs, we recently surveyed 685 of the worlds most prolific entrepreneurs to find out their common thread.

We believe our findings offer an important contribution to research into the traits of todays entrepreneurial leaders. This is what we found.

1. Entrepreneurial leaders are made, not born.

Scientists have yet to identify the entrepreneurship gene; yet why do most entrepreneurs start early? There are identifiable traits and experiences that make it more likely that an individual will choose the path of entrepreneurship, namely a willingness to take risks and seize opportunities, and an openness to change. Although many entrepreneurial leaders start young, the experience they gain through education and in traditional corporate environments is vital to their future success.

2. Entrepreneurship is rarely a one-off decision.

The majority of respondents to this survey are serial entrepreneurs who have launched at least two companies. Entrepreneurial leaders who embark on more than one venture gain valuable insight and lessons into how to make a new business successful. As such, they perform a vital role in the economy and start a significant proportion of all new ventures.

3. Funding, people and know-how are the biggest barriers to success.

Among the 60% respondents who experienced obstacles in their ventures, the most common barrier is a lack of funding or financing. The two other most-cited obstacles are finding the right people and business acumen needed to run a successful business. As a result, entrepreneurial leaders are well advised to build ecosystems networks of resources to address these three areas.

4. Entrepreneurs share common traits.

Entrepreneurs typically exhibit a combination of similar behaviors and attitudes. At the heart of this model is a strong internal focus of control a belief that events result directly from an individuals own actions or behavior. This is complemented by a mind-set that sees opportunity where others see disruption, along with an acceptance of calculated risk and a tolerance of failure.

5. Traditional companies can learn from entrepreneurial leaders.

Employee incentives and fostering innovation are good places to start. It is no coincidence that fast-growing entrepreneurial companies place larger amounts of share ownership in the hands of employees. And in terms of innovation, traditional companies have few incentives to disrupt their own business models with game-changing innovations.

As weve shown, entrepreneurial leaders are defined as much by their early business experience, cultural background and external environment as they are by any innate personal characteristics. Simply put, nurture is more important than nature in shaping the entrepreneurial mind-set.

To read the full report, click here (LINK TO: https://www.ey.com/GL/en/Services/Strategic-Growth-Markets/Nature-or-nurt…). To learn more about Ernst & Youngs Entrepreneur Of The Year Program, visit: https://www.ey.com/US/en/About-us/Entrepreneur-Of-The-Year.

The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ernst & Young LLP.