Study Reveals Personal Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs
Successful entrepreneurs, such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates, are known not only for their innovative products, but also for their unique personal features. They have high self-confidence, the ability to make smart decisions under pressure and love for adventure. But the listed qualities are not just interesting details of their biographies: they can have a great influence on the success of the startup.
A group of researchers from four universities – Oxford, Sydney Technological, Melbourne, and New South Wales – decided to solve the secret of the success of startups. They conducted a large-scale study in which more than 21 thousand startups around the world and their founders were analyzed. The individual characteristics of over 32 thousand founders were examined. The results of their study were published in the journal Nature.
To analyze the personal characteristics of the founders of startups, scientists used artificial intelligence algorithms and a “five-factor” model – a psychological method that divides the personality into five main groups: openness of experience (or intelligence), conscientiousness, extraversion, friendliness, and emotional stability. Each of these groups can be detailed by 30 different aspects.
Comparing the data on the founders of startups with the data on their employees, scientists have found that entrepreneurs have completely different combinations of personality traits than the rest. Researchers argue that they could correctly identify entrepreneurs with an accuracy of 77% and employees with an accuracy of 88%, using only alleged personality vectors.
Based on the results obtained, scientists developed six different types of founders: a fighter, administrator, performer, leader, engineer, and developer. They called their model FOALED (Fighters, Operators, Accomplishers,