Great entrepreneurs 'born, not made'
Success as an entrepreneur has more to do with personality than formal education, new research claims.
In the latest study to add to the debate about whether it's nature rather than nurture which influences business achievement, 80% of the 500 business owners surveyed believed their success could be put down to personal traits. In contrast, just 14% saw education as the influencing factor and only 31% possessed a specific business qualification.
Although two thirds recognised the importance of life experience and previous employment in nurturing entrepreneurial qualities, researchers said the results indicate such traits are inherent rather than learnt. Some 60% of company founders had launched their first business by the age of 30 and on average had spent less than 10 years in the workplace before becoming an entrepreneur.
The study, commissioned to mark the launch of the O2 X Awards, identified five personality traits which form the 'entrepreneur DNA'.
To read the rest of the article you'll need to log in below
If you've forgotten your details click here for a reminder.
If you haven't got an account, it's free to set up and only takes a minute,
click here to register
Battle will commence in the regional heats of our business competition The Pitch 2010 this summer. Do you have a new company good enough to impress the judges? 
Join our social media discussion group and share your Twitter username with other BusinessZone members. 
We're putting together a list of business owners' must-haves. 
Dragons' Den judges James Caan and Deborah Meaden and social entrepreneur Karen Darby are some of the successful entrepreneurs who feature in our exclusive videos.