The document discusses profiling entrepreneurs and their characteristics. It analyzes entrepreneurs based on qualitative research and interviews with founders of companies ranging from 10 to 1,000 employees. The summary profiles entrepreneurs as taking considerable personal risk, valuing autonomy over dependency, and needing to take action on a large scale. It notes that while security and a planned career are priorities for most, entrepreneurs are willing to abandon these for independence.

1. Profiling : are You
an Entrepreneur
or what?

2. Your guest speaker Geert Fiers
+ 20 years experience in recruitment Fiers & De
Mey/Thefuturealliance
http://www.thefuturealliance.com
Co-founder of ATS (Applicant Tracking System)
www.HR-Technologies.com
2
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

3. At present :
• creation of www.psaq.eu
• Temporary Resident
3
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

4. Profiles of Entrepreneurs
• Based on Qualitative Research : PSAQ : Professional Styles & Attitudes
Questionnaire combined with in depth interviews
• Comparison with Managers and general professional population
• Focussing on “First Line” entrepreneurs; not the second or third generation in
family businesses
• Founders of companies from 10 tot + 1,000 employees were screened
4
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

5. Security
Job Security
Planned Career
Guarantee
Financial Security
Long Term visibility professional career
…
5
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

6. Why?
• Why do you consider to start up your own company?
• What would hold you back?
• How do you look at the alternatives, a corporate career, a government job …?
6
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

7. Parameters
Significant Personal
Risk versus
Security
7
11/11/2013
Autonomy versus
Dependency
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

8. Significant Personal Risk
Entrepreneurs
Intra preneurs
Dependency
General working
population
Security
8
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved
Autonomy

9. Dependency
Need for guidelines
Need to work within a structured
environment
Focus on rules and regulations
Responsibility for professional career is
exteriorized to a certain (greater) extent :
corporation, government, union …
Together with Security we could call this
the need for a professional “caring”
environment”
The largest part of the working
community is situated here
9
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

10. Autonomy
Need to own your own professional life
Need to realize professional goals
in your way
Being one’s own boss
In complex organizations : having control
Disliking hierarchy (above)
Not a nominal factor, but a continuum:
From having single control to
partnerships, being a minority
shareholder with extended reporting
duties
Consider the fact that al of these
relationships vary during the life of the
company
10
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

11. •Standing out of the crowd?
• What do we really mean?
11
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

12. 12
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

13. 13
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

14. 14
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

15. Taking considerable
Personal Risk
15
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

16. Taking considerable
Personal Risk
Engaging a part of your financial means
that could hurt when lost
Out of financial reserves or loaning
capacity
Abandoning a steady career
One step further
Risking the security of others
stakeholders : employees, shareholders
The level of risk can evolve during the
professional life of the entrepreneur
16
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

17. Manic?
So you are probably a little bit Manic 
But is that enough to be entrepreneurial?
Aberrations often occur when there is no
personal risk but all stakeholders are
recklessly involved
On the contrary, all stakeholders should
be correctly informed to make venture
socially acceptable
Otherwise your just another …
17
11/11/2013

18. 18
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

19. Scale of operation
The bonsai and the sequoia
Start-up entrepreneurs are less
concerned about size than managers
As a start-up you can (must) dream
about the sequoia but not forget that
you start with a small bonsai
19
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

20. Size
Some innovative projects take some
much “side energy” : financing, rules
…that it is decided to realize them within
existing structures
20
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

21. Social Compliance
• Entrepreneurs are more likely to
overrule social compliant
behaviour
• For start-up entrepreneurs there
is a very thin line between
private life and work – work-life
balance???
• “Now, considering you
brought my mother into it :
71,5” Gordon Gekko
21
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

22. Energy
And how u use it!
22
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

23. Social Status
23
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

24. Self confidence
In your agility
In being able to adapt to unpredictable
situations, to adapt to rapidly changing
market situations
Of course : hubris lurks around the corner

24
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

25. Influencing factors : Family
• Getting the chance to experiment
• Values cited : “hard work”; “just go for it”
• Partner
• Mentor
25
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

26. Need for Scale of Action
10
8
Pro-active
6
4
Lack of Social
Compliance
2
Entrepreneur
Intrapreneur
0
General Pop
Need for Power
Administration
People Management
26
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

27. And what about the
money?
Does it play a role?
Consider : high on Risk and low on
Autonomy; that is called gambling not
entrepreneurship
27
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

28. Triggering events
• The straw that breaks the camel’s back
• Management buy-out opportunity
• The market opportunity taken up outside the company structure
• The “mature manager” deciding to take up entrepreneurship as a (final) career
step
And of course : “the ultimate spin-off”
28
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

29. The straw that breaks
the camel’s back
29
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

30. The straw that braeks
the camel’s back
°Promises (e.g. for promotion) not kept
°Profoundly disliking the boss
° One of your market contacts pinpoints
an opportunity; the project is not okayed
by your superiors
In each of these cases you were always for
all positive or negative signals as a trigger
to take the step
30
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

31. Self Assessment Questionnaire
• Describe you long-term career dream, does your wish to start-up your own
business comply with that?
• Make a list of the reasons why you want to start-up you own business
• Describe in detail what your personal risk is in your venture
• How important is job security for you?
• What kind of “control” do you wish to have over the operation; define your
preferred scheme
• How important is work-life balance to you?
• How is your energy level and which part are you wiling to delegate to your
project?
• Which part of the skills do you have to succeed; do you know how to fill in the
rest?
5
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

32. Most important
• Don’t hesitate to go for your idea, even if your score on the self assessment is
horribly low, because you might stand out in a different way
32
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

33. Attracting Talent for
start-ups

34. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5NN
x1bP7gM
Motivation
11
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

35. Fundamental questions
• Take the time to consider how far you want to go in “sharing” your idea;
sharing the company; this may fundamentally influence the type of talent you
will attract but also what your part of the story will be;
• Make a list of the qualities that are complementary to yours and fundamental
for the success; make sure who you need “on-board” and which activities are
better outsourced;
• Do not only prepare the recruitment and assessment of potential talent; but
make sure that you have an excellent “on-boarding” program; a lot of the
decisions to leave a company are taken on the first day; a bulk of energy is
wasted on “setting of on the wrong foot”
• Make a realistic list of your assets to engage talent; you’re not alone out
there, there is something called “the labour” market
• If you have international goals; consider them from the start
35
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

36. • “You need to attract determined, innovative, flexible resourceful , risk minded
individuals. To do this, emphasise the exciting (sometimes roller coaster) ride
of a start up, the freedom to make decisions that have impact, and offer
rewards that match the risk”. Robert Kilpatrick – IESF UK
36
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

37. Active community building
• For those roles and talents that are “key” to your activity
• You must know who is a potential talent for you company
• You should actively keep in touch with that community in all possible ways: -irl! conferences;
invite them to your events;
social media
Make sure your project and company is known in that population
By You I mean, yourself or someone of the company that has this at least
partially as ad dedicated role.
As the company grows all managers and staff should be involved in this to a
certain extent.
37
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

38. As you grow …
38
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved

39. Channels &
Platforms
Search Engines
Offline/ Non
traditional
Talent
Community
Branding &
Campaigns
Job Publishing
Social Networks
CRM (Passives)
Job Marketing
Online
Job boards
Social Pages
Executive
Recruiting
Campaigns
Job Aggregators
Social Apps
Niche Boards
Social API
Integration
CRM
( active )
Mobile Recruiting
Employee
Referrals
University
Campus
Executive Search
Agencies
Talent Networks
Recruiting Events
Job Feeds
(RSS/XML)
Talent Community / Career Website Platform / Applicant Tracking System
Social CRM

40. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mw7US6RiKts
40
11/11/2013
Copyright Geert Fiers ,all rights reserved