The Hidden Drive Behind Great Entrepreneurs: Unpacking Motivation
Introduction
Steve Jobs once said, “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” Great entrepreneurs share a passion and a drive that allows them to achieve incredible things. But where does this motivation come from, and how do we identify it at NXTP?
The Importance of Understanding Motivation
At NXTP, we invest more in founders than in companies. We aim to partner with individuals who create things, not just startups looking for capital. In early-stage venture capital, assessing founders is more art than science. While various tasks and methods exist to understand founders, in my view, grasping their backstory and what motivates them is one of the most critical factors.
From Academia
From an academic standpoint, we can use several frameworks to help understand:
- Self-Determination Theory: Developed by Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan, this model focuses on the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. In the entrepreneurial context, it helps understand how entrepreneurs balance internal motivations like passion and vision with external factors like capital and recognition.
- McClelland’s Need for Achievement Theory: This model focuses on the need for achievement as a critical factor in motivation. According to David McClelland, people with a high demand for achievement are more likely to take calculated risks and set challenging goals — common traits in successful entrepreneurs.
- Vroom’s Expectancy Theory: Created by Victor Vroom, this model suggests that motivation is the product of the expectation of an outcome and the value assigned to it. In the entrepreneurial realm, this translates into the perceived likelihood of success and the intrinsic or extrinsic value the entrepreneur associates with that success.
- Skinner’s Reinforcement Theory: This model is based on the idea that the consequences of past actions determine future behavior. In the entrepreneurial context, this could manifest in how past successes or failures influence an entrepreneur’s current efforts and motivations.
From Practice
Having been on the front lines of over 200 seed-stage startup investments, this motivation often has a dark side related to personal history, childhood, and deficiencies that leave scars. These “demons,” as Walter Isaacson calls them, are not necessarily evil. They can be related to childhood deficiencies, strange relationships with parents, or other complex personal relationships that generate additional motivation to prove oneself or compensate for shortcomings. These can become productive demons that drive entrepreneurs to overcome obstacles and achieve unimaginable goals.
Reconciling with Demons: At some point, it’s necessary to reconcile these deficiencies and needs and turn them into positive aspects that generate that drive and sense of urgency.
Drive vs Happiness
Looking at my own story, I see that dark side that has allowed me to achieve many things. The same goes for other entrepreneurs I’ve spoken with.
In a conversation with Wences Casares, we discussed whether this is a characteristic we want for our children. Do we want them to have this drive at the expense of carrying their demons, or would we prefer they simply be happy, even if it means lacking that drive? If those are the options one could choose, I would wish for them to be happy. But to achieve this, the best way I was taught from a young age is the one promoted by Sir Baden Powell, the creator of the scouting movement. In his last words, he left his recipe for happiness: make others happy and leave the world better than we found it. This is precisely what these entrepreneurs achieve.
Being a “Doer” vs Personal Happiness
Being a “doer” who changes the world may not be the path to personal happiness in the short term, but it is the path to significant impact and joy through making other people happy.
The role of NXTP. Beyond understanding founders’ motivations, our practical implementation is to identify these characteristics to assemble a team that complements and maximizes the founder’s skills.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, our goal is simple but ambitious: to invest in people who will not only change their industries but also have the potential to change the world — and be happy making others happy. ;)
