How to Raise an Entrepreneur

Let's be clear - the article is about raising a kid with the skills and capabilities of an entrepreneur. But be wary of targeting your child's future career path. That is a very dangerous game to play, as your kids need to be free to make their own path in the world, not follow your script.

I do not think being an entrepreneur is right for everyone. If everyone was cut out to do it, YC wouldn't need to question their applicants so carefully.

And as a parent, I don't want my child jumping down a path that doesn't match who they are, and therefore won't make them happy.

When I lived in Bangkok, I met a couple of interesting people passing through via ASW. And a couple of them, when I told them I was running my own show because I COULD NOT STAND working for other people, and because I'd feel like an abject failure taking a 9-5 for the rest of my life, said that they'd found this was a common theme -

People who start out by themselves are often driven by an inability to be satisfied with a 9-5 other than some deeper nobler entreprenurial drive that people seem to fetishize...

This article is devoid of any real content. Essentially they are saying that you need to be reasonably good parents.

Anyways, it happens that there is a brilliant talk by Cameron Herold at TEDx on the topic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCar_sFfEf4

Great article. I'm raising my grade school daughter on my own and I struggle to raise her to be adventurous and curious, and it seems to be working okay. She's been bugging me to "program a robotic dog" -- Mindstorm time?

Anyway, I'm disappointed one of the most interesting anecdotes was saved for the end. I'd like to hear more about how his mother grew her deceased husband's wholesale business and then sold it to a larger firm.

I agree on most of the tips, but believe they have missed a few. Find people (friends) that complement your own skills and personality. Teach your childre to try and fail quick, so they understand that faillure is a good thing.

Interesting to contrast this advice with the approach of Amy "Tiger Mom" Chua (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870411150457605...) who advocates strict routine and control and discourages imaginative thinking, participation in team sport and is horrified at anything less than an 'A'.

If she's truly representative of the way Chinese mothers raise their kids, I don't think America has anything to fear on the innovation front.

I find the cartoon of the child behind the CEO desk at the top of a large building to be rather ironic given the article's contents.

Interesting article and a well developed topic. As a latest survey says that Entrepreneurs Are Made, Not Born.