Although diverse in terms of their pursuits, our profiled entrepreneurs share many traits in common: hungry, fearless, driven, creative, and optimistic are among the adjectives they use to describe the entrepreneurial persona. Here they share some hard-earned wisdom on a variety of challenges today’s entrepreneurs face.
On taking risks:
“As an entrepreneur, you have to be willing to take risks. If you waste time worrying about why something might not work out, you will never get started.” —Yan Rezvin (’16) of FortuneCookieAdvertising.com
On finding inspiration:
“Love what you do!” —Aoi (Adachi) Kawano (’00) of Pualani Soap
On staying motivated:
“You will change your plan over and over again, but you’ll get there. Don’t be scared of starting over.” —Elena Kosharny (’14) of FIVE AM Inc lingerie
On weathering adversity:
“Head down and keep going.” —Jesse Potash (’09) of Trunkster (innovative luggage)
On managing expectations:
“Believe you will succeed, but plan for what it will take to get there—and be conservative about your projections.” —Anat Gerstein (MPA ’04) of Anat Gerstein Inc.