LinkedIn’s co-founder says having an ‘entrepreneurial mindset’ is key to success

LinkedIn Co-Founder Reid Hoffman believes that in order to succeed in taking entrepreneurial leaps of faith, one must possess an entrepreneurial mindset.

In a guest post on Entrepreneur.com, Hoffman says a Universal lesson he’s learned as co-founder of LinkedIn, an early hire at PayPal and an investor is that “no two founders are the same”.

“There’s no Silicon Valley factory where entrepreneurs are issued a hoodie, a can of Monster Energy, and a CS degree from Stanford, and are told, ‘Go forth and found’. Not every founder is young, not every founder comes from tech, not every founder graduates from an impressive university (some, like Sir Richard Branson and Bill Gates, never graduated at all).”

There is, however, a quality that’s common in all of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, according to Hoffman.

“They share a way of looking at the world and responding to it that’s essentially optimistic and action-oriented. A mindset that’s generative and resilient and often runs counter to the lessons we learn in school.”

He adds that innovators often display a mix of entrepreneurial mindsets, namely “a bias to action; a comfort with chaos; a capacity for quick decisions; grit; optimism; a steady supply of plan B’s”. While owning them all is impossible, “the key is recognising where your strengths are, and where you must learn and adapt.”

Drawing on his own experience, Hoffman says as a founder and a leader, “you throw all your energy into problems external to you: your product, your market, your team and your funding. But I can’t speak highly enough of the practice of cultivating your own mindset. It’s the most important tool you can bring on your quest to build and scale your business.”

“Consider it a vital investment,” he says with some food for thought. “The success or failure of your journey, at many points along the way, will rest upon how you think.”