Surely the only important question is whether the entrepreneur in question has what it takes to be successful in their current situation at precisely that point in time. The answer to that will always be a judgement call by the person asking the question who has hopefully makes that by putting in the hours to work with the girl or guy to see what makes them tick. Anyone who makes a decision based on what school she went to or whether she had a parent that started their own business is lazy and doesn't deserve success if indeed it comes their way.

I have a father that started his own company when we was 30 and still runs it today at over 70. I was lucky enough to go to a good school where I studied reasonably hard to receive good results and went to university as a result and got a degree in engineering. None of that has a decisive bearing on whether my venture http://www.involvd.com will be success and I hope that, when it comes to seeking investment, no-one tries to make a decision based on this history. If they do alarm bells will ring loud and clear and I'll need to think about whether this is the right person to partner with.

Ignore all of that is what I say. Don't waste your time thinking about it because it's just noise and gets in the way of the hard task of thinking about what's really important. Having said that I do love a good old bit of statistics bashing so thanks for putting in the time to do it Mark.

Anyway, enough procrastinating from me, I need to get back to building a wildly successful business!

Surely the only important question is whether the entrepreneur in question has what it takes to be successful in their current situation at precisely that point in time. The answer to that will always be a judgement call by the person asking the question who has hopefully makes that by putting in the hours to work with the girl or guy to see what makes them tick. Anyone who makes a decision based on what school she went to or whether she had a parent that started their own business is lazy and doesn't deserve success if indeed it comes their way.

I have a father that started his own company when we was 30 and still runs it today at over 70. I was lucky enough to go to a good school where I studied reasonably hard to receive good results and went to university as a result and got a degree in engineering. None of that has a decisive bearing on whether my venture http://www.involvd.com will be success and I hope that, when it comes to seeking investment, no-one tries to make a decision based on this history. If they do alarm bells will ring loud and clear and I'll need to think about whether this is the right person to partner with.

Ignore all of that is what I say. Don't waste your time thinking about it because it's just noise and gets in the way of the hard task of thinking about what's really important. Having said that I do love a good old bit of statistics bashing so thanks for putting in the time to do it Mark.

Anyway, enough procrastinating from me, I need to get back to building a wildly successful business!

Surely the only important question is whether the entrepreneur in question has what it takes to be successful in their current situation at precisely that point in time. The answer to that will always be a judgement call by the person asking the question who has hopefully makes that by putting in the hours to work with the girl or guy to see what makes them tick. Anyone who makes a decision based on what school she went to or whether she had a parent that started their own business is lazy and doesn't deserve success if indeed it comes their way.

I have a father that started his own company when we was 30 and still runs it today at over 70. I was lucky enough to go to a good school where I studied reasonably hard to receive good results and went to university as a result and got a degree in engineering. None of that has a decisive bearing on whether my venture http://www.involvd.com will be success and I hope that, when it comes to seeking investment, no-one tries to make a decision based on this history. If they do alarm bells will ring loud and clear and I'll need to think about whether this is the right person to partner with.

Ignore all of that is what I say. Don't waste your time thinking about it because it's just noise and gets in the way of the hard task of thinking about what's really important. Having said that I do love a good old bit of statistics bashing so thanks for putting in the time to do it Mark.

Anyway, enough procrastinating from me, I need to get back to building a wildly successful business!

Although I disagree with Mark's views, I have to agree with him that Vivek's post did not prove the nurture argument.

Although I disagree with Mark's views, I have to agree with him that Vivek's post did not prove the nurture argument.

If you are interested more about this topic, I found a great book a couple of years ago which dives into the science behind this in a very accessible way (ala New Yorker'ish). It was called the Nurture Assumption and was written by Judith Rich Harris. It was national book award finalist and her background is writing and updating university pych 101 textbooks. So the whole book is grounded in the research. It was a fascinating ride though the Twin Studies, Ethic Studies where 1st and 2nd gen kids assimilate into US culture.

Given the nature of how you think about this topic, I think you will find it a quick and interesting read. It will also provide more examples to reinforce what I think is a pretty sound hypothesis.

If you are interested more about this topic, I found a great book a couple of years ago which dives into the science behind this in a very accessible way (ala New Yorker'ish). It was called the Nurture Assumption and was written by Judith Rich Harris. It was national book award finalist and her background is writing and updating university pych 101 textbooks. So the whole book is grounded in the research. It was a fascinating ride though the Twin Studies, Ethic Studies where 1st and 2nd gen kids assimilate into US culture.

Given the nature of how you think about this topic, I think you will find it a quick and interesting read. It will also provide more examples to reinforce what I think is a pretty sound hypothesis.

So many people have nurtured their attributes studying 20 hours a week to get a Harvard MBA, attend leadership programs, and are never heard from again; the same thing can be said about countless first captains (brigade commanders) at the United States Military Academy that command the respect of their peers the second they set foot on campus during Beast.

Therefore their are potentially great and wonderful leaders everywhere. Have these individuals with this talent they were born with and nurtured thrust themselves, or at no fault of their own been thrust into a situation where history will remember them?