Over the decades, I’ve started a fair number of firms.  I’m not going to count the ones I started before I was 18, since they were what I would call solopreneurial ventures.  Businesses started to provide me the money I needed to live.  I had no desire to create an enterprise, one that would hire employees and make a lasting impression upon the world.

(I should state that my scientific/engineering creativity was devoted to a concept that would help patients or citizens.  No business was attached to those concepts- although one of them did eventually become part and parcel of a startup business.)

Admittedly, I did manage two entrepreneurial ventures before starting one of my own.  I’ve often mentioned Arlee Cleaners; I didn’t start the venture, but I certainly helped it grow in revenue and profits, as well as develop a spin-off (drapery cleaning venture) that was profitable.  And, I also helped a catering firm grow from a single site to multiple sites, from an operation in mid-six figures to one with multiple commas.  (Please remember this was just about 50 years ago- so a 10 to 25 million business was pretty substantial back then.)

But, the first real venture I started was with a bunch of very talented engineers and designers.  And, we made a go of it (we were among the first Inc500 awardees, and repeated for several years before I decided that increasing profits were far more crucial than revenue growth.)

Over the course of that venture’s defined lifespan (we had agreed that it would cease operating after 25 years; but personal affairs kept us involved for 27 years, instead), I asked my partner(s) for permission to work on outside ventures.

Every one of those outside ventures involved me as the sole leader, but with a core of highly talented folks forming part of the startups.  (These folks did receive “phantom stock” in the venture[s], providing them with dividends and profit-sharing- even with capital gains when the ventures were sold.)

So, it’s safe to say my entrepreneurial activities were almost always solo ventures; one went public, a few had angel investors, but the bulk of them were self-funded.  My only venture that had multiple founders was the ASTRE Corporate Group, which started with five of us.

Which brings up some new research done by Drs. Jason Greenberg (NYU) and Ethan Mollick (Wharton, U of P).  (This wasn’t their first liaison; among the others was their determination that women are more successful at crowdfunding ventures than men.)   They (correctly) observed that venture capitalists rarely invest in firms that have been formed by a sole entrepreneur; instead they want to help firms started by teams to succeed.   Without a scintilla of evidence that this is the better path.

The thinking is that teams would outperform solo founders; after all, how could a single individual possess the portfolio of skills – or resources- that a team could deploy.  (They haven’t met me, as you can see.)  Plus, a team should be able to better garner the resources a venture needs to succeed.

The profs studied kickstarter ventures (from a pool of 65326, they obtained data from 10943 with 7788 of them fully completing their series of questions)  over 7 years, but most of the firms were moderate in size (the total revenue generated by the firms they studied approached $ 360 million).  And, in this select group, solo founders were able to ensure that their firms survived longer than those with multiple founders.  About 2.6  more likely to survive than those with multiple founders.

Interestingly, the solo founded ventures were far less likely (54%) to dissolve their ventures without formally closing the business (compared to those with 3 or more founders) and 46% for two person teams.

And, as I stated above, this study may still not convince venture capitalists to abandon their predilection for teams.  Because the firms the profs studied were very small.  (If any of my firms had amassed the sales these ventures amassed in a quarter, let alone a year or more, I would consider them to have been abject failures!)

 

 

 

Don’t forget!  Today is the first (of 2 days) for the free

SBA Small Business Week Seminar!