The entrepreneurial lessons of a CEO
30-NOV-09
Global Entrepreneurship Week was held from the 6th to 22nd November and entrepreneurs around the world were encouraged to think big and to turn their ideas into reality.
A firm champion of such initiatives is Ivan Epstein, CEO of Softline, who recently shared insights gained on his entrepreneurial path with the 2009 Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur finalists, in Johannesburg.
Epstein is a winner of the Ernst & Young South African Best Entrepreneur of the Year (1999/2000) and has been on the judging panel every year subsequently.
I believe at least 85 countries, including South Africa, are taking part in Global Entrepreneurship Week this year. How exciting and encouraging. The technology which entrepreneurs, even in the most remote parts of the world, have access to today puts the world in the palm of their hands.
What initiatives like Global Entrepreneurship Week prove is that budding owners and CEOs are not waiting for anyone to remove the barriers to starting a business – they are leading such change, armed with information and access to their peers, opportunities, and start-up mindsets across the globe.
A true entrepreneur sees opportunities others don’t, even in an economic slump. With a compelling enough product and service offering, any time is the right time to start a business. South Africa’s window of opportunity is wide open for those driven and hungry enough to succeed.
My partners and I certainly were in creating Softline over 20 years ago. We didn’t focus on the little capital that we had. We focused on our vision of developing software for an emerging market; we identified an opportunity and exploited it.
Entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes, but I believe they share common characteristics. Firstly, entrepreneurs are opportunity seeking and persistent. They are also comfortable in and eager for risky, unfamiliar situations.
Their focus is on enriching those who share their vision (we thrive on having great people around us). Entrepreneurs have a need to think about solving problems and creating value and, I have discovered, most are naturals; they didn’t learn to become what they are, they just are.
The entrepreneurial path which I’ve travelled over the past two decades has been an interesting one to date. There has been much learning. Amongst the most valuable lessons and realisations are:
* In any organisation, culture is critical so get it right first time. ‘If you want to be the greatest company, you have to start acting like one today’.
* Always balance your strategic relationships. Continue to focus your energies on what your customers want.
* Once you have the right product, invest in channels and stay true to your vision.
* Believe in what you believe in (know your value proposition). Always seek a win-win situation, even if it seems unlikely.
* To build an industry, always enlist the help of partners.
* Establish level playing fields with your partners and continue to build on your propositions.
* Nothing is impossible if you don’t know your limits.
* Never let egos get in the way of doing the right thing.
* As a leader, note that leadership is based on a spiritual quality; the power to inspire, the power to inspire others to pursue, and that the only limit to your impact is your imagination and commitment.
* You should always continue to build on your vision, but don’t forget vision without execution is hallucination.
* Your interest should always lie in the future. It is, after all, where you are going to spend the rest of your life.
I see just how ambitious entrepreneurs are here in South Africa and elsewhere as I sit on the Ernst & Young judging panel, listening to the many stories of how businesses were founded, from concept through growth to success.
It has been a remarkable experience which, year after year, is testament to the high level of entrepreneurship which exists in our country.
I’ve always believed that some of the world's greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible.
I’m sure South Africa’s entrepreneurs will set out to conquer the impossible as they participate in Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009, creating new opportunities and businesses, encouraging fresh ideas, and making a positive contribution to a better economy.
