Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made?

This December Fortune Small business story revisits the Nature vs Nurture debate within the context of entrepreneurship. Are entrepreneurs born with certain inherent traits, like risk taking ability and decision making skills? Researchers at Case Western and University of Cambridge think so, but that line of thinking bothers a lot of people, including several quoted in the article.

Of course, many business skills can be taught, and there may never be a clear answer on the Nature aspect. But it's interesting food for though. If you're interested in this subject, you can read the full article below, which contains quotes from folks at other institutions such as Babson, The Kauffman Foundation, and Kleiner Perkins, to name a few.

Excerpt:

"(Fortune Small Business) -- When Bill Gates's children become adults, they'll probably launch their own businesses.

And not just because of their father's example. Entrepreneurial tendencies -- including the ability to recognize business opportunities -- are heavily influenced by genetic factors, according to a study co-directed by Scott Shane, a professor of entrepreneurial studies at Case Western Reserve University.

Shane and his fellow researchers compared the entrepreneurial activity of 870 pairs of identical twins -- who share 100% of their genes -- and 857 pairs of same-sex fraternal twins -- who share 50% -- to see how much of entrepreneurial behavior is genetic and how much is environmental."

Click here to read the full article

Michael Mullins

TLP Boston 2010