Entrepreneurs - Born or Bred?

This question is regularly asked in business circles - are successful business people born to do well, or does upbringing and environment play a bigger part?

This question was the basis for a recent study by Northeastern University's School of Technological Entrepreneurship. The verdict from this particular piece of research was that entrepreneurs are born that way.

According to the survey results, 42% of those questioned set up their first venture during childhood, with a further 33% starting up between the ages of 18 and 30.

The biggest motivators towards starting up were: Innate Drive (62%), with only 16% stating the success of peers as the biggest single motivator.

Entrepreneurs are often fearless and are willing to take risks where others would be more cautious - these traits also feature heavily in the survey results, with 74% of those questioned claiming to have felt no fear at all, or a small degree of fear when starting out for the first time.

You can read the full results of the survey here (PDF).

Another interesting view on the "Born or Bred" debate comes from an article published in the Guardian in June this year. Guy Clapperton asks "What makes people start their own business? Starting your own company is undoubtedly a risky business. So why do so many of us do it?" - you can read the article here.