SOUTH African technology investor Vinny Lingham is among an elite group of worldwide entrepreneurs who have been selected in a report published by the World Economic Forum, Stanford University and industry body Endeavor.
Lingham, the founder of website builder Yola, was selected alongside other leading entrepreneurs from Mexico, Argentina, Turkey, Jordan and Colombia.
The report delved into the topic of Global Entrepreneurship and Successful Growth Strategies of Early-Stage Companies, and agreed that entrepreneurs were an important contributor to job creation across the globe.
A key finding of the report was that governments seeking to promote growth through entrepreneurship needed to learn what makes their local top 1% of companies successful, as opposed to just aiming to replicate the likes of successful technology ventures like Silicon Valley in the US.
"This report offers compelling proof that to drive economies forward, the key is not to generalise approaches for all entrepreneurs but to focus resources on high-impact entrepreneurs – those innovators with the highest potential to scale," said Linda Rottenberg, co-founder and CEO of Endeavor.
"Understanding the elite few in their own ecosystem may prove a far more effective strategy than trying to replicate the success factors of other entrepreneurial hubs such as Silicon Valley," said George Foster, Paul L and Phyllis Wattis Professor of Management and Dhirubhai Ambani Faculty Fellow in Entrepreneurship at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, and co-author of the report.
Commenting in the report, Lingham outlined a handful of key lessons for entrepreneurs:
1. Trust your gut as an entrepreneur – although sometimes you will be wrong.
2. Don't be afraid of taking risks – that's why you’re not working in a corporation.
3. Follow the money – find where customers are looking for you and go to them.
4. Always raise more money than you think you need – you will need it.
5. Hire the right person fast – but fire them faster if they're not what you expected.
- Fin24
Lingham, the founder of website builder Yola, was selected alongside other leading entrepreneurs from Mexico, Argentina, Turkey, Jordan and Colombia.
The report delved into the topic of Global Entrepreneurship and Successful Growth Strategies of Early-Stage Companies, and agreed that entrepreneurs were an important contributor to job creation across the globe.
A key finding of the report was that governments seeking to promote growth through entrepreneurship needed to learn what makes their local top 1% of companies successful, as opposed to just aiming to replicate the likes of successful technology ventures like Silicon Valley in the US.
"This report offers compelling proof that to drive economies forward, the key is not to generalise approaches for all entrepreneurs but to focus resources on high-impact entrepreneurs – those innovators with the highest potential to scale," said Linda Rottenberg, co-founder and CEO of Endeavor.
"Understanding the elite few in their own ecosystem may prove a far more effective strategy than trying to replicate the success factors of other entrepreneurial hubs such as Silicon Valley," said George Foster, Paul L and Phyllis Wattis Professor of Management and Dhirubhai Ambani Faculty Fellow in Entrepreneurship at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, and co-author of the report.
Commenting in the report, Lingham outlined a handful of key lessons for entrepreneurs:
1. Trust your gut as an entrepreneur – although sometimes you will be wrong.
2. Don't be afraid of taking risks – that's why you’re not working in a corporation.
3. Follow the money – find where customers are looking for you and go to them.
4. Always raise more money than you think you need – you will need it.
5. Hire the right person fast – but fire them faster if they're not what you expected.
- Fin24