The Most Important Questions Entrepreneurs Should Ask Themselves

Before starting a business, there are four characteristics an entrepreneur should have, or look for in their partners.The odds are stacked against entrepreneurs. Most new ventures fail within their first few years in business. Some try to scale up too early, or too late. Others run out of cash in the scramble, forcing founders to close shop before they go into the red. But the most determined will push on regardless.Hian Goh, the co-founder of the Asian Food Channel (AFC) and an INSEAD alumnus (MBA ‘04D) says entrepreneurs should never accept the fate before them. His statement is rooted in experience. AFC was created in 2005, shortly before the global financial crisis hammered the media industry around the world. It became a household name across the region and, despite the aforementioned turmoil, was spotted and acquired by American media company, Scripps Networks, in 2013.Roger Egan (MBA ‘10), the co-founder and CEO of RedMart, Singapore’s leading online supermarket, is also living proof of such determination. He found himself packing and delivering customer orders more than once, and even shopping at rival supermarkets to fill orders when his warehouse ran out of stock.Goh and Egan were sharing their stories with Veronica Chew (MBA ‘10J), the co-founder of Healint and Jani Rautiainen (MBA ‘05D), the co-founder of PropertyGuru, during a panel discussion at INSEAD in memory of the late entrepreneurship professor, Patrick Turner.

Source: The Most Important Questions Entrepreneurs Should Ask Themselves | INSEAD Knowledge