News
The 5
Traits Every Entrepreneur Must Have
November 12, 2019
For an episode
of Planet Lex: The Northwestern Pritzker School of Law
Podcast, Howard Tullman (JD ’70), Executive Director of the Ed
Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship and former CEO
of 1871 Chicago, and Governor J.B. Pritzker (JD ’93), co-founder of the
Pritzker Group, discussed what it takes to pursue innovation in business.
During the
conversation, the guests shared insight into how a legal education contributes
to an entrepreneurial mindset. “When we talk about entrepreneurs at law school,
the law schools are still focused on the gladiator litigator model, which is
‘one person is going to triumph,’” Tullman said. “And frankly, the world is
different today. The world is about collaboration and it’s about a different
set of team-based skills.”
Still, having a legal
background can help entrepreneurs be efficient and effective, Pritzker said. “A
mindset of the law helps to drive the entrepreneurial spirit,” he explained.
“There a lot of people who have a desire or a need to go create but may not be
able to organize and head down a single road in order to get things done.”
For anyone who wants
to pursue an entrepreneurial career, Tullman says there are five must-haves:
1. Passion. Being
an entrepreneur is hard and lonely, Tullman says, so passion for the work is
critical.
2. Dedication. “You
have to do literally the hard work,” he says. You’ll be putting your sweat —and
a lot of your time — into your endeavor
3. Preparation.
Entrepreneurship isn’t just the excitement and glitz you see on shows
like Shark Tank. Before any project takes off, you’ll need to
take time to prepare.
4. Perseverance. “It’s
a bumpy, long and hard road,” Tullman says. You’ll need to stick with it.
5. Desire to Make a
Difference. “You have to want to do something that is more than making
money,” Tullman says. “You have to want to make a contribution.”