Art Of The Start
Learn To Take Chances

What are the personality traits/qualities needed to be a successful entrepreneur?

I don't believe in the psychobabble, mumbo jumbo about entrepreneurship: first child versus second child, breast-fed versus formula. Besides, if I listed them, it's not like you could magically and actually change yourself. So if you want to start a company, start a company. Don't bother to "check" to see if you've got what it takes.

In one of your books, you talk about how some of the most successful ideas--Yahoo!, the telephone, etc.--prevailed despite everyone saying they wouldn't. In your column, you seem to be the naysayer yourself. What gives?

Just because someone says your idea will fail doesn't mean it will. However, just because you think it will succeed doesn't mean it will either. You have to admit that some ideas are just plain dumb. Also, most of the questions that appear in this column are about fundability, not viability. The two things are not the same. They may not even be related.

Aren't venture capitalists just part of the problem? Without their prodding, companies such a Webvan or eToys would have never gone public, and millions of people wouldn't have lost their retirement savings.

Venture capitalists are part of the problem, but there are many other parts--including the investors. Nobody held a gun to their head to invest. Let's face it: They wanted to make a quick buck, too. If you think that there was a concerted plot to swindle people out of their retirement savings, you should contact Oliver Stone but not Forbes. The only solution to preventing investors from losing money is to remove the possibility of making money. That cure, in my opinion, is worse than the ailment.

I have a lot of personal debt. Is this going to hurt my chances of getting VC funding for my business?

It depends on who you owe it to. Seriously, many VCs will run a background check on you. If you have bankruptcies in your past--or criminal convictions--you'll face an uphill battle. But if you owe a lot of money, but you're current in paying it back, it shouldn't be much of an issue, if it's an issue at all.

I'm trying to decide where to locate my tech "company." It's not really a company yet, just an idea. Is it going to hurt my company to not be based in Silicon Valley? Since I realize I'll be poor for quite a few years until my company takes off, I'd prefer to live somewhere cheaper.

Locating in Silicon Valley has a lot of advantages, such as an entrepreneur-friendly infrastructure of service providers, plentiful capital and a workforce that celebrates startups. However, it is more costly and competitive.

All things considered, though, unless you live literally in the middle of a void where you cannot find good employees, I wouldn't let this be your main consideration. Entrepreneurship is more a state of mind than a location.

How do you know if you have what it takes to strike out on your own and become an entrepreneur?

You won't until you try. Even then, you might fail. Then you might try again. You never "know" whether you're an entrepreneur. You either try or don't try.