What it means to be an entrepreneur

An examination of what it means to be an entrepreneur, by Ryan Allis, the creator of iContact. I don't agree with everything he says (particularly, the charts/timelines for what to do in year 1, year 2, etc.) and I don't have experience running a startup with full-time employees, but some of his early stage experiences really resonated. Some excerpts:

"... Most people are talkers. Investors know that investing in someone who has figured out how to create something from nothing (creating a solution to a need that people will pay to have solved) provides a much higher chance of generating a return than investing in someone who just has an idea and “needs” your money to even get started."

"... The act of “creating something from nothing” cannot be modeled in a Goldman Sachs spreadsheet. It is the magic that entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial engineers have. This is, definitionally, what entrepreneurs do–bring together the resources of land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurial ability to create something of value that is greater than the cost of the sum of inputs and sell it to the marketplace."

"... An entrepreneur is someone who takes initiative and who has a bias toward action. An entrepreneur has the ability to take feedback, has a high tolerance for stress and is very determined. An entrepreneur also has decisiveness, courage, and the ability to deal with failure. An entrepreneur is often someone who is quite creative, has the ability to learn quickly, and perseveres through nearly anything. An entrepreneur can delay gratification. An entrepreneur has a drive to achieve and the abilities to plan, build a team, inspire and lead, and prioritize."

Via Hacker News.