Entrepreneurs are insanely crazy people who have a flair to see the world in a new light, something unconventional in conventional and embrace challenge and risks with equal panache!! So does an entrepreneur feel satisfied with one biggie in his basket and ride on its glory lifelong or does he look for new avenues for creating meaning at all times?? 

“The most dangerous poison is the feeling of achievement. The antidote is to every evening  think what can be done better tomorrow.” — Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA founder 

The words are very true if we consider the works of serial entrepreneurs. They have never rested upon past laurels and have always chased novel dreams, new ambitions. Had they stopped after their one creation or one endeavour, the world would have been devoid of so many great things. Take for example, a simple innovation and creation without which we cannot imagine our lives to be bright. I am referring to “The Light Bulb” by Thomas Alva Edison, the greatest innovators and entrepreneurs of all times. Had he not tried 10000 different combinations, he would not have arrived at the perfect filament. In Edison’s words, "I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” This shows the perseverance and dedication of the passionate lot that is ready to walk that extra mile in order to achieve what they truly believe in. 

If we consider the modern day serial entrepreneurs like Richard Branson or Elon Musk, one would notice that they did face a lot of hurdles in their earlier ventures and they had almost fallen to pieces initially. But they hung on, believed in themselves and their ideas. There is a very important lesson here. As individuals, we don’t know which idea will work and which will not. It is just through sheer integrity of their thoughts and ideas that keeps these entrepreneurs moving. Who can know what lies in the future? But these people do have a hunch and most importantly a belief that outshines all their fears of failures. The other thing worth mentioning is that the key driver that inspires these entrepreneurs is Challenge itself and the idea of learning something new. 

Serial Entrepreneurs: How did they do it? source: fundersandfounders.com
People should be capable of learning, unlearning and relearning in order to create and innovate. In the words of Richard Branson himself, “My biggest motivation ? Just to keep challenging myself. I see life almost like one long University education that I never had — everyday I’m learning something new.” This passion, the never ending zeal to update them works in their favour. And interestingly, they understand their business better than anyone else does!! So, even if they fail, they know what went wrong and are ready to correct it as this again is a challenge to them. It is as if they have something to prove not just to others but to themselves. They can have their own unique ways of thinking and working; they can be free spirited but at the end they will absorb what is important to them. It seems as if they have an innate understanding of what is relevant and what is not, as if there is some sort of filter in their minds that can sieve through the good workable ideas. The desire to succeed is so important that it outweighs anything else and makes them fierce to achieve their goals. 

Another contemporary entrepreneur, Mark Zuckerberg, is known for his charismatic leadership. I find a basic difference in the line of thoughts of Richard Branson and Mark Zuckerberg. While Branson maintains that difference in the world can be brought about after only establishing the business. On the other hand, Zuckerberg opines that Facebook was built to accomplish the social mission of connecting the world. One wonders then as to what could be the mantra for success and to join the leagues of such visionaries. The question still remains which is the right way, whether to think of social mission and then profit making or the other way round? That’s a tricky and dicey issue, something that everybody is entitled to have own and perhaps a different opinion. 

Also, the other startling difference is that Branson and his likes have entered into various ventures while Zuckerberg tasted success soon in Facebook. So does that mean, one should not diversify and foray into many businesses? Does that mean that Jack of all trades and Master of none is still relevant in its initial form? I beg to disagree. Gone are the days when one could rest into the past efforts. These are the times of frequent and turbulent changes. It is very important to keep on re-inventing and re-innovating. Take for example the case of Orkut. It was once very popular but with the onset of Facebook, it begun to lose its charms and now is like an extinct species in the social networking world. Everything is ephemeral and does not last for forever in this world. So how can one be very sure of reaping the benefits of one invention or creation forever? 

Going back to the example of light bulbs, just consider the changes and additions that have been made to the Lighting industry as such. Consider the variants that have come in the market since the infancy of light bulbs like the Tubelights, LED lights because innately man has never learnt to be satisfied with what he has. Necessity is the mother of invention. However, taking this analogy further, I would like to say that for entrepreneurs, the desireand passion to better their own ideas, creations, and business is what drives them to achieve greater heights. It is always better to have a spur of ideas so that one can be shielded from the transient nature of the businesses in these times. With the changing needs of the consumers, things change at the drop of a hat and before one can comprehend, a new trend has set in. Hence, it is always better to update and be a trend-setter, rather than being a trend follower. I feel that a serial entrepreneur will always have an upper hand since he is always on the outlook for something new. A one-time creation or innovation may not be a sustainable especially because of the fact that every entrepreneur wants to keep up with the pace of this fast-changing world. It is this drive and passion that spurs entrepreneurs to keep challenging themselves to innovate for a better tomorrow for themselves and for the world.   

Article by: Sonam Lal, PGP 2013-15

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