5 Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

Wanna be successful?Can you say yes to these 5

things?

William Klippgen, Managing Director, Tigris Capital Pte Ltd

June 2012

From engineer to angel

• California: Core engineering team at US search engine Excite Inc.

• Norway: Co-founded Kelkoo.com; acquired by Yahoo for around S$1b

• Singapore: Started Tigris Capital in 2003 to invest in tech / media start-ups

A few failures……and some amazing success stories

So, around 15 companies later, what did I learn about successful entrepreneurs?

Be flexible (and foolish!) • No shame in being a copy-cat• … but keep re-inventing to provide real value • Scrap the crap if it doesn’t work • Do one thing at a time• “God is in the details”

Lean, mean, fighting machine• Bootstrap; Avoid cash commitments• Use free / cheap services • Get to know journalists, PR is cheap

marketing• Small revenues = Small expenses• Focus on growth, not volume• Make use of government grants

Marriage with no sex• No man is an island• Choose your co-founder(s) wisely • Opposites attract• Each founder should lead in his / her area of

expertise• Similar commitment levels

“Always two there are, a master and an apprentice,” - Yoda

• Listen to your mentors / investors(You have no clue about all the things you don’t know)

• Don’t listen to your mentors / investors(They have no clue about the bit you know)

All work, no play

• Organise your time – What do you want to achieve today?

• Prioritise based on impact• Use tools that let your business scale • Hire people better than you

- makes Jack a dull boy

Have fun with your start-up!

Send your ideas to [email protected]