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10 Insights on Entrepreneurship

from Thom Ruhe

This presentation consists of highlights from the interview with Moe Abdou,

founder & host of 33voices®.

Thom Ruhe is CEO of the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative, Publisher of ID-8Nation and Founder of EcDevPartners. He is helping communities around the world unlock the economic potential that comes from democratizing en-

trepreneurship. Prior to leading these three complimentary groups, Thom was Vice President of Entrepreneurship at the Kauffman Foundation. In this capac-ity, he directed the Foundation’s programs addressing entrepreneurial educa-tion, mentoring, access to capital and fostering entrepreneurial communities. Additionally, Thom was President of Kauffman Labs for Enterprise Creation, a

school dedicated to advancing experiential-based community education.

Thom Ruhe@thomruhe

CEO of the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative

Entrepreneurship is establishing a framework for understanding the hard work.

Embrace the challenge.

Insight #1

Insight #2

In addition to their courage and critical thinking skills, modern entrepreneurs hurdle over adversity because of their tolerance for ambiguity and empathy

towards others & the market.

Insight #3

Beware of the curse of knowledge. As Mark Twain said, “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what

you know for sure that just ain’t so.”

Insight #4

In building your team, be diligent not to build an echo chamber. It’s the diversity of thought that

will help you weather the inevitable challenges.

Insight #5

Early stage companies hire generalists, then shift toward scalpels with deep domain

expertise. When those scalpels start to outnumber the generalist, they appoint managers.

Insight #6

“There are still many large white spaces on the map of human knowledge.

You can go discover them. So do it. Get out there and fill in the blank spaces. Every single

moment is a possibility to go to these new places and explore them.”

- Peter Thiel on ideas

Insight #7

Community is the new form of currency; before raising your next round of capital,

explore crowdfunding options.

Insight #8

If your growth is stagnant, chances are you’re spending too much time working in

your business, and less time on it. The latter starts your leadership transition.

Insight #9

Learning to value your time is sign of leadership maturity. “I choose a lazy

person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it.”

- Bill Gates

Insight #10

Next time you’re stuck, remember this from Ben Horowitz: “Note to self: It’s a good

idea to ask, ‘what am I not doing?’”

How willing are you to ditch your best idea?

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Presentation created by Chase Jennings

Insights by Moe Abdou