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Techpreneurship: You Just Might Be an Entrepreneur
Techpreneurship, with Jeff Amerine
Jeff Amerine
(Jeff Amerine is an IA advisor and officer with the University of Arkansas Technology Licensing Office. Each Thursday, his Techpreneurship blog will appear in INOV8. Drop him a line in comments.)
So, in my quixotic quest to be an eternal graduate student, I’m now taking a doctoral level course on leadership. Pretty interesting stuff, right? Well, you can draw your own conclusions from my clear zeal for the subject…
In any case, one of the early readings by A.J. Dubrin is titled, “Leadership: Research Findings, Practice, and Skills” (6th Edition), and it identifies some subject matter that may be useful to Arkansas Techpreneurs.
Dubrin discusses the usual theoretical leadership styles such as autocratic or participative, gender differences in leadership, and frankly the typical blather that gets covered in leadership theory. He also identifies “Entrepreneurial Leadership” as a style as well… This section nearly woke me up from the hazy coma I was about to enter…
I thought we could have some fun with the Entrepreneurial Leadership Assessment Dubrin provided if we sort of combined it with a little Jeff Foxsworthy, i.e “If You……Well, you may be a Redneck”.
You get the picture — replace “Redneck” with “Entrepreneur,” and you’re in business. So here goes:
Respond as to how well each of these statements apply to you using this scale: very inaccurately (VI); inaccurately (I); moderately well (MW); accurately (A); very accurately (VA).
| Statement | VI | I | MW | A | VA |
| 1. If you had a serious illness, you’d purchase generic instead of brand name drugs. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 2. You would invest more money in bonds or CDs than stocks. | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 3. Creating your own business appeals to you. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 4. You are or were willing to go on blind dates frequently. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 5. Your career advice to young people is to check in to a safe and secure job. | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 6. You would be willing to relocate to a city where you had no family or friends. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 7. You have taken up a new sport, extreme activity, or foreign language on your own. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 8. Your preference is to have at least 90% of your compensation as a guaranteed salary. | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 9. Occasionally you buy food, jewelry, or clothing from street vendors. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 10. The idea of piloting a single engine plan over the ocean appeals to you. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 11. You regularly send text messages while driving highway speeds. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 12. You talk on your cell phone in busy traffic. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Total Score |
So, you might just be an Entrepreneur if your total score was:
56-60 – You have a death wish. You may be reckless at times. Get insurance. You always assume you can figure out how to open the parachute after you jump. This group may also be known as first-time entrepreneurs and unsuccessful gamblers….
48-55 – You are a measured risk taker. You gather data, consider outcomes, and are prepared for adventures. This enhances your leadership. This group contains successful leaders, entrepreneurs and serial entrepreneurs. You assume you are owed nothing from anyone but are determined to create your own destiny.
15-47 – Get a job and check-in — entrepreneurship is not for you. You avoid risks. You may be a fun sponge. You are often acted upon before you take the risk of acting.
OK, so I took some liberties with the description of the scoring. Even so, knowing yourself is really critical to being a successful Techpreneur. It is step one of the process of considering a new venture. Here are a few bonus questions to consider:
B1: Do you have the attention span of a gnat?
B2: Do you thrive on living on the edge of chaos?
B3: Does your brain fill with so many new business ideas you worry you may run out of time to try them all?
B4: Do you have a keen ability to see opportunity others don’t see?
B5: Do you assume you can always find a way to succeed regardless of the odds against you, the lack of money, and the army of naysayers that stand in your way?
If you answered yes to 3 of the 5 bonus questions above, well you might just be an Entrepreneur!
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