The “3 Sets” of Successful Entrepreneurs

Every year I meet with dozens of groups who seek to better understand why so much innovation, company formation and value creation takes place in Silicon Valley.

Part of the answer is found in the highly evolved entrepreneurial ecosystem that exists in Silicon Valley, and part of the answer is found with the talented entrepreneurs themselves.

I refer to these capabilities as “The 3 Sets of Successful Entrepreneurs: Skillset, Toolset and Mindset.”

In my entrepreneurship curriculum at UC Berkeley, we put these “sets” to work, adding new tools and skills every week as my student teams launch new ventures in real time.

The Toolset represents the “what,” frameworks and models that entrepreneurs and teams utilize to frame and execute their activities and steps. Tools include frameworks for customer personas, customer discovery and development, the customer lifecycle, competitive positioning and different structures for business models.

The Skillset represents the “how,” putting the tools to work through processes, methodologies and techniques. This includes how to look at markets and customers, rapid prototyping, market segmentation, launching into tightly defined beachhead markets, growth hacking, creating a great customer experience and storytelling and pitching your venture.

And then there is the Mindset of the entrepreneur… Read my post The Top 10 Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs to learn what distinguishes the best entrepreneurs and innovators from the rest of us.

Mark Coopersmith Strive Magazine

This excerpt was taken from “The Entrepreneurial Mindset” by Mark Coopersmith.

Originally published in Strive Magazine, January 2019.

Full article on Strive Magazine (below):

The Entrepreneurial Mindset by Mark Coopersmith on Strive Magazine: Inspiration for Innovation.