In the unpredictable world of entrepreneurship, the debate continues: “Is luck as important as hard work?” For many executives, the key is to optimize for failure and understand that setbacks can provide valuable lessons for reinventing and refining strategy. Failure can hurt, but it can also provide important growth opportunities. Complementing hard work with personal rituals, such as wearing a lucky tie, can help entrepreneurs shape their mindset to seize opportunities. Through a combination of intuition, preparation, networking, and resilience, they are able to create, recognize, and capitalize on serendipity. Against this landscape of chance and grit, these five entrepreneurs shed light on the interplay of hard work and luck along the path to success.
1. Take advantage of opportunities.
Elana Tenenbaum Klein, founder of Carta Creatives, a multidisciplinary design studio focused on real estate, hospitality, and residential clients, believes luck is a crucial factor in landing big deals. After her company was featured in one of the world's leading newspapers, she wisely leveraged the news in her company's launch email newsletter. “I was nervous to send it. Normally I like to be quiet about things, but I was hoping that certain people would see it and that a conversation would occur,” she says. The person she had in mind was a busy executive at a major company who happened to open the email amidst a sea of promotional messages. Coincidentally, she also happened to be in need of her Carta Creatives services at the same time, so she quickly replied: That's me. “
2. Don't be afraid to take risks.
Joe Spector fled Uzbekistan with his family when he was 10 years old, lived in a refugee camp in Italy, and then landed in California's Bay Area. He is currently the founder and CEO of Dutch, a telemedicine company for pets. The company, the successor to telemedicine pioneer Hims & Hers, which he founded, went public at a valuation of $1.6 billion. Mr. Spector is living proof that having a unique tolerance for risk can pay the price. off. “From my personal experience as a refugee, I've always had to do difficult things,” he says. “I have developed a thick skin over time, so it is relatively easy for me to take risks in business. Before we left the Soviet Union in the middle of the night with only one suitcase, my mother I said going to the moon is like going to the moon. It's very unknown. I did it anyway. As an entrepreneur, you have to be comfortable with the unknown. I'm glad I was able to take advantage of this perspective. , and we are fortunate to have ended up in the Bay Area, which is a hub for startup entrepreneurs.”
3. Be prepared.
No matter how hard Mikey Lean tries, Mother Nature takes over. Summer hospitality businesses are subject to the vagaries of the weather, so he and Lees Beach Co-op co-founder Dylan Silgiovanni prepare for as much of a weather roller coaster as humanly possible. A collection of food and retail stores, bars, live music, and other outdoor events is part of the National Park Service and is known as New York's “People's Beach” near his one-mile Jacob Lease Park. It is located along the promenade. City's Rockaway Peninsula. Leanne has about 10 weather apps on her phone, adjusts the weekly schedules of her more than 40 employees, and adjusts meal preparation to the forecast.
As entrepreneurs, we need to think more about the luck we engineer, rather than the luck that happens to us by chance.
– Joseph Kuderer, StorySavor founder
“We're lucky to have minute-by-minute updates,” he says. Especially given the hurricane threat to Rockaway, where he and Silgiovanni grew up. “We do a lot of work on the weekends of three big holidays: Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day. The fourth one we couldn't do all because of the weather. June We had wildfire smoke and a lot of rain. Fortunately, August turned things around at the perfect time. From mid-July onwards, the weather improved and the numbers evened out. Although bad weather is always a concern and a major hurricane hasn't hit Rockaway since 2012, a combination of flexibility and hard work has helped them grow their business venture since 2015. I keep doing it.
4. Be patient and then jump.
“As entrepreneurs, we need to think more about the luck we create than the luck that happens to us,” says Joseph Quaderer, founder of StorySaver, a biographical writing service. But at that point I had earned a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Notre Dame, earned his MBA in finance and strategy from New York University, spent 17 years as a Wall Street banker, wrote novels, and I had graduated from I am a graduate of Columbia Journalism School. So, the idea was born over dinner, but a lifetime of hard work and dedication took the concept from conception to reality. ”
5. I hope for good luck.
When Lisa Ann “LAMARKS” Markson, founder of experiential entertainment company Ars Poetica, started her career in New York City, she was in her early 20s and had no industry connections. “My good fortune was largely due to being incredibly naive, hopeful, and enthusiastic. If you truly believe that every opportunity is good, it somehow becomes a reality. In an approach she calls “fake it till you make it,'' she often walks into “fancy venues'' as if they belong to her, pretending that she is “the poet booked for tonight.'' I told people, set up my typewriter, and then was chatting away. “It never went wrong, and I got a lot of legitimate gigs that way.”
Whether it's charging into an event with confidence, landing in the right inbox at the right time, or paving the way through sheer grit and determination, these entrepreneurs know that luck can influence success. Even though we recognize that luck can never completely define it.
A version of this article was originally published on November 9, 2015.
Photo: Getty Images
