Reading about another really young CEO-who was 13 at the time of selling his first venture and is now heading up a new software company at the age of 20-got me thinking about what qualities make a person so successful at such a young age.
When comparing the habits of young CEOs, there couldn’t be a wider range of lifestyles; for example, the CEO mentioned above would dress in a polo shirt, cargo shorts, and flip-flops (even in meetings!) and would work until one in the morning after which he would take a nap (in his office!), wake up after a 6-hour snooze, go for a jog and return to work. Contrasted to another young entrepreneur who woke up at dawn, went to school, worked on her business on evenings and weekends, and kept a strict schedule for managing her time, it was hard to pinpoint the key qualities that all these young leaders possess.
It was only when reading about how they started these businesses that I began to see some trends emerging. For one, they are “idea” people; they have always been the person to think of solutions to problems or improvements on existing solutions as long as they could remember. It just so happened that they found “the idea” that finally struck them rich, out of the thousands they came up with. Another similarity I noticed between these young leaders is their complete focus on one given interest. Most engineers our age are interested in a plethora of subjects and ideas; for these kids, it’s one thing that they fixate on (which usually stems from one of their ideas). They must know all they can about the one subject and be willing to toy with it for months or even years at a time. Also, these students are entirely passionate on what they’re working on and are willing to see it through no matter what the cost. Both CEOs mentioned above devoted all their time to their endeavours and worked a hundred times harder than the average person. Furthermore, and most importantly, they are risk-takers. More often than not, CEOs at this age are willing to take big risks like investing all their money or quitting school in order to see this venture through. More importantly, they are able to convince others to take those types of risk as well. For example, the software company CEO didn’t start his freshman year at Princeton and, when breaking the news about his decision to Mom, managed to convince her to invest some money into his vision as well.
While these are traits that are commonly found amongst high-achieving members of our age group, there is one major difference: the combination of the qualities mentioned above is not found in quite the same high “intensity” among the majority of high-achieving students in our age group. While we consider ourselves hard-working and willing to take risks, it is not to the same degree. Their fixation on this one idea and their determination to make it work, no matter what the cost, is what sets them apart. This is not to say that you should quit school to pursue this type of success; I’m saying that if you have one crazy idea that you know can work, consult others and take steps to make it happen. This may mean taking your hard-earned co-op term wages and putting them toward starting this enterprise rather than paying your tuition (that’s what loans are for!) or sacrificing time with friends on weekends to start your business. More importantly, if you can convince others that you have a great idea, use their encouragement to take steps to make it a reality.
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