What do tech overlords like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates have in common? There is, of course, no simple answer to this question, but if we look closely, we can identify a set of common traits that a huge amount of successful tech entrepreneurs share. It’s not just being born in the right circumstances (although this is, of course, important). There are also characteristics that you need to learn or possess inherently in order to succeed in the tech world. Here are 9 things that all tech entrepreneurs need if they’re going to succeed.
1. Business funding
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This one might be a little bit of a cheat, but every tech entrepreneur is going to need funding for their business if they want to succeed. Many entrepreneurs are able to fund their businesses through loans from family or other network connections, which is fortunate, but it’s not possible for everyone. If you don’t have access to immediate funds for your tech startup, you’re going to need to get creative. Appeal to investors, reach out to banks for loans, or take on personal loans that you can repay once your business is in the black.
2. An understanding of big data
More and more these days, the tech world is driven by big data. The definition of big data is fairly complex, but in essence, the term refers to huge volumes of data that can give you valuable insights into your customers, your profit margins, and other elements of your business. A tech entrepreneur should have a thorough understanding of big data, because this is how you’re going to grow your startup; by examining and comprehending the trends that exist within the big data you collect, you can make targeted moves and grow your operation.
3. A grasp of social media
Knowing how to be social media-savvy is what separates a merely middling tech entrepreneur from one who can take the world by storm. Right now, when Elon Musk tweets, the value of certain companies and currencies can either skyrocket or plummet depending on what he says. That’s not just because he’s an influential figure; it’s also because his tweets are carefully constructed to give away his thoughts and reinforce his “just another guy” branding. That’s a clever use of social media, and one that tech entrepreneurs should consider emulating.
4. Knowledge of SEO
SEO, or search engine optimisation, is the process of ensuring that content you create is optimised for search engines, as you might expect. Every piece of content that you publish on your website or social media pages – whether it’s posts, tweets, or lengthier blog entries – is assessed by search engines for visibility and then assigned a score. The higher the score, the more likely your page is to be seen at the top of Google results when someone searches for relevant keywords. As you can imagine, understanding SEO is a critical skill for a tech entrepreneur.
5. Understanding of the competition
Tech is an incredibly competitive world. As such, you’re going to need to understand your competition inside and out if you want to succeed. You can gain a greater understanding of what your competition looks like by conducting market research; asking your demographic to complete surveys about what they want from a business like yours, for example, or observing how another business operates. By gaining an understanding of your competition, you’ll see what they’re not quite doing right and where you could make improvements on their model.
6. A risk-taking nature
If you don’t try to take risks with your business in the tech world, you’re quickly going to come up against walls you can’t get past. Taking risks is vital to the world of tech; you won’t break new ground if you’re not constantly trying to identify areas that could potentially advance your operation to the next level. Of course, you should thoroughly assess any risks you take to make sure that failure won’t completely bankrupt you, but on a moment-to-moment basis, taking risks is vital for ensuring your business doesn’t stagnate.
7. A strong network
No tech business can be all things to all people. Even if you examine the biggest tech businesses in the world – Amazon, Microsoft, Meta – you’ll find that there are areas they simply can’t compete in. For that, they’ll often look to other companies to provide those solutions, and that’s where networking comes in. Talking to other business owners and exchanging details with them will stand you in great stead later on, when you need the service that business is providing. Don’t burn bridges as a business owner; build them instead and you’ll be happier and more successful.
8. Humility
One of the biggest things that brings down many tech entrepreneurs is a lack of humility. It’s easy to think that you know all the answers already, and that you’ll never need to adapt your approach, but this is a surefire way to fail. The fact is that a great business owner is always learning from their mistakes and finding ways to incorporate those mistakes into a wider business strategy. If you approach the world of business with humility and understand that you don’t know everything, then your tech business will improve exponentially as a result.
9. Big-picture thinking
As with all entrepreneurial endeavours, thinking of the big picture is a favourable way to approach your business. When smaller things go wrong, or individual products don’t necessarily launch to the rapturous fanfare you were expecting, try to keep your eye on the big picture. Is this as ruinous for your business as you think? Be honest with yourself and conduct an analysis rather than simply doomsaying or prophesying the end. It is, of course, important to have an eye for detail, but it’s also important to know when that detail is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.
