Tenacity

It’s New Years Eve here in Sydney, and 2010 is looking to me like a year of opportunity. 2009 was a difficult year, and many entrepreneurs may have thrown in the towel. For those entrepreneurs dedicated to their craft, they will find comfort in a recent post by Mark Suster on Tenacity. He says:

Tenacity is probably the most important attribute in an entrepreneur. It’s the person who never gives up – who never accepts “no” for an answer. The world is filled with doubters who say that things can’t be done and then pronounce after the fact that they “knew it all along.”

I agree with Mark understanding that tenacity is a key attribute in a successful entrepreneur. Being on the fund raising trail for MySchoolAct I have sent out plenty of emails without receiving a response. I’ve had just as many “no’s” from VC’s and Angel Investors. If entrepreneurs gave up at the first no, or first un-answered email the world would be a very different place.

At the age of 21 I co-founded a property investment company. The key product of our company was on-selling properties to low income families under an installment contract (commonly known as Wrap’s, Vendor Financing or Rent-to-Own). One of my early meetings was with an accountant introduced to me by a good friend. I was simply looking for an accountant to take care of our books. After explaining the concept to the accountant, he sat back in his chair, and with a smirk on his face he said “sounds like a fun concept, and if I was younger and more of a risk taker I may be interested in getting involved with your business”. I left that meeting feeling empty and very disappointed. It was my first knock-back in the business world, and I wasn’t prepared for it. Luckily I didn’t give up. Three years later our company had bought and sold more than 50 properties.

Fred Wilson (writer of A VC blog) sums up Tenacity nicely. He writes:

Tenacity comes in all shapes, sizes, and sexes. It’s an equal opportunity employer. But it’s not easy to see and reveals itself over time. If you want to be a successful venture investor, keep your eye out for it. It will lead you to a lot more wins than losses.

Enjoy the rest of 2009 and welcome in the opportunities that 2010 offers.