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Running Head: Entrepreneur Profile Research

Entrepreneur Profile Research Submitted By: Vandan Jain Entrepreneurial Studies (ENTR4650) Northern Alberta Institute of Technology

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Running Head: Entrepreneur Profile Research

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Elon Reeve Musk is a business magnate, industrial designer and engineer. Elon Musk is a South African-born American entrepreneur who cofounded the electronic-payment firm PayPal and formed SpaceX, maker of launch vehicles and spacecraft. He was also one of the first significant investors in and chief executive officer of, the electric car manufacturer Tesla (Gregersen, 2020). Musk became a multimillionaire in his late 20s when he sold his start-up company, Zip2, to a division of Compaq Computers. Musk made headlines in May 2012, when SpaceX launched a rocket that would send the first commercial vehicle to the International Space Station. He bolstered his portfolio with the purchase of Solar City in 2016 (Biography.com Editors, 2021). He is currently resident of Canada, South Africa and America. He is a billionaire and became the world's wealthiest person in January 2021, surpassing Jeff Bezos. In 2016, he was listed on the Forbes list of "World's Most Powerful People". According to Forbes, Musk's real-time net worth is $ 34.8 billion (n.d.). ". In 2019, he was again listed in Forbes list of "Most innovative leaders of 2019."

Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa. Musk's father, Errol Musk, is a wealthy South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, and sailor. Musk's mother, Maye Musk, is a Canadian model and the oldest woman to star in a cover girl campaign. .Musk spent his early childhood with his brother Kimbal and sister Tosca in South Africa. His parents divorced when he was 10 (Biography.com Editors, 2021). At the age of 10, Elon Musk displayed an early talent for computers and entrepreneurship. At the age of 12, he was a self-taught computer programmer and sold codes for the video game he created 'Blastar' for $500 to 'PC and Office Technology Magazine'. In grade school, Musk was short, introverted and bookish. He was bullied until he was 15 and went

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through a growth spurt and learned how to defend himself with karate and wrestling (Biography.com Editors, 2021). Business Insider website states, "Just before his 18th birthday, Musk moved to Canada and worked a series of labour jobs, including shovelling grain, cutting logs, and cleaning out the boiler room in a lumber mill for $18 an hour, an impressive wage in 1989" (Loudenback & Rogers, 2020). Elon Musk graduated his high school in 1988 and opted to move to America rather than in South Africa. Ross in her article, Musk said about his move, "I think South Africa is a great country, but if you wanted to be close to the cutting edge – particularly in technology – you came to North America." (2019, p. 4). He completed his schooling from Water kloof House Preparatory School, Bryanston High School and Pretoria Boys High School. In 1989, Elon Musk attended Queen's University, and in 1992 he attended the University of Pennsylvania where he did his B.Sc. in Economics and B.A. in Physics. In 1994, Elon Musk did two summer internships-- Pinnacle Research Institute and Palo Alto. In 1995, Elon Musk started his doctorate in 'energy physics/materials science' from Stanford University, California but dropped out after two days because he felt that the Internet had much more potential to change society than work in physics and launched his first company. Elon Musk's Determination and commitment can be witnessed in many of his life scenarios. In one of Elon Musk's interviews, he mentions that during the creation of Paypal, they had just one computer, and "the website was up to during the day, and I was coding it at night, seven days a week, all the time" (Huddlestone Jr, 2018). There is no end to this man's Determination as Musk, during this interview, also state that he had a girlfriend during this period, and to be with her, she had to sleep at the office only (Huddlestone Jr, 2018).

Running Head: Entrepreneur Profile Research

Musk's ambition enables him to transform his ideas into products. This ambition, combined with his fierce commitment, makes him an inspirational entrepreneur. In my personal view, a person must make many sacrifices to climb up the ladder to be a successful entrepreneur. Also, Commitment and Determination are essential traits for an entrepreneur because they help them achieve their goal. Commitment and Determination are among the most significant characteristics of entrepreneurs, and I think it is a must-have trait on the road of a successful entrepreneur. As a leader, an entrepreneur should always lead those working alongside them and motivate them. Once Musk's quoted that "If you are co-founder or CEO you have to do all kinds of tasks you might not want to do if you do not do your chores, the company will not succeed. No task is too menial." He was trying to convey that an entrepreneur should lead in the front by showing how things are done, and a good leader always leads by example; that is why they should know every work in the project. In my course of leadership development, I learned how important it is to give and receive feedback. These feedbacks, as an entrepreneur, are critical because it can shape the future for you. Sometimes criticism gives you a different approach to tackle the problem at hand. Even Musk mentioned, "It's essential to have a feedback loop, where you're constantly thinking about what you've done and how you could be doing it better" (Youshaei, 2018). This shows how profitable a leader he is as he values all the feedbacks and evolves with time. To be successful on the journey of an entrepreneur, one should be a good leader who is willing to take the risk, and being a good leader is the second most significant trait for a successful entrepreneur to possess.

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Elon Musk has a keen interest in technology from an early age. At the age of 12, he built a video game, and this obsession with video games continued until he turned 16. He turned his focus into an opportunity as he opened a video game arcade with his elder brother, which later got shut down due to some issue. Even in one of the interviews with Swenson, Elon reported that he firmly believed that the Internet, renewable energy, and space were three areas that offered the most incredible opportunity to have the most significant impact" (2017, p. 5). Elon always represented the traits as suggested by Dr Timmons in one or the other way. Elon still had the vision to convert his ideas into reality and to do that, and one must invest themselves and take the risk. Elon Musk started the company Zip2 after quitting his PhD degree, which was a significant risk he took. Still, I would say it was a calculated risk as later he sold that company to earn a profit of 20 million dollars. Elon Musk did not settle here, and he later founder X.com with the profit. His risk-taking capability allows him to freely invest his time and hard work towards what he believes would be the right thing to do. Musk is always involved in creating new things that positively impact the whole world. His journey from Zip2 to Tesla shows many references where we can witness his creativeness and genius. Elon stated that renewable energy would be the world's future, and he believed in his vision and created Tesla and introduced electric cars. Elon also believes in the power of reverse engineering as he thinks it helps him find the solution to complicated problems and gives him an edge over others to see out of the box. I have seen a video on YouTube on which Elon was a guest and was asked how he hires people for his company, Elon replied that he spend the most quality while hiring the people as he states I won't be able to meet them daily. Still, I want someone in my team who can be a reliable team player, and he can count on them to do their part with their 100%. In one of his interviews, Elon wants our leaders to find ways to motivate and

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inspire their teams, reduce the noise in their work, and help remove blockers. If you are a manager or leading at any level at SpaceX, we stress that your team is not there to serve you" (Jackson, 2017). Musk Always motivates those around him and gives them the strength to achieve their goal. Musk's own motivation to achieve success plays a significant role in his success as he always moves ahead with a plan, which keeps him at the edge with the competition and helps me give him 110% to achieve the set goal. For the success of an entrepreneur, creativity and obsession are the third most significant trait to possess as it enables one to change reality and follow their path. This can also help them challenge themselves from time to time to think outside the box. What inspires you? At an early age, I realized that some things should fuel and keep my engine running. I mean that some goals or agendas should inspire me to do something I am doing right now. Life cannot just be about solving one miserable problem after another, that can't be the only thing. There need to be things that inspire you, that make you glad to wake up in the morning and be part of humanity" (Montag, 2018). Moreover, My inspiration as an entrepreneur comes from those days when I realized five areas I could focus on in the future: sustainable energy, the Internet, "making life multiplanetary," and perhaps artificial intelligence (AI) and rewriting genetics. With the latter two, though, I knew things could go wrong" (Jill, 2014). so I decided not to pursue them. I think the things that drive me are that I would think of the future and say, Yes, this is what I wanted it to be, and I will feel good about it. Also, "trying to figure out how to make sure things are great" keeps my engine running (Montag, 2018).

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During my first venture, I acquired funds from my father, who funded me $28000, which was enough to start Zip2. These funds helped me lay my plan for the website and create enough to lure investors into investing money into my project. After so many rejections, finally, I convinced a venture capital firm to invest in the idea. Later after the success of Zip2, we sold this and earned a profit of over 20 million dollars, which later helped me with my other ventures. So the first right resources were the funds which I got from my dear father. Whenever you start a venture, there are possibilities that you need to take into consideration, such as competition, target audience, and others. But If you're entering an existing marketplace against large, entrenched competitors, your product or service needs to be much better than theirs. I think it would be best to consider what gives my product an edge over the existing products. Why will it be in the people's benefit in purchasing the goods of my company? Other things that can be introduced in the consequences for the public's use. Public reviews also help update the product. Considering all these facts help me stay ahead of the growth. Starting a business does not end the struggle of the entrepreneur. Managing it so that it is in the best interest of those linked with is more challenging. Once a new venture is started, there are so many things related to it, such as stakeholders, employees, and the idea. If I fail to deliver my monthly stats, how will I pay up my employees and give my sponsors' profit? To handle all these, I need to focus on managing my ventures after starting them. 1- People should pursue what they're passionate about. That will make them happier than pretty much anything else." 2- When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor."

Running Head: Entrepreneur Profile Research

3- If you're trying to create a company, it's like baking a cake. You have to have all the ingredients in the right proportion." Conclusion In my opinion, Elon Musk is a living example of inspiration. An aspiring entrepreneur should always look after his life and consider his words while starting a venture. Musk's life experiences contain so many lessons that one should learn before starting a journey on the road of entrepreneurship. Also, Elon Musk demonstrates all six dominant themes of entrepreneurs by Dr Timmons that one should know and motivate from. Elon Musk's life is the aspiration for someone like me who wants to own a business in this foreign country, and one can learn a lot from his journey. His life experience and views can help me mould my future as an entrepreneur and give me motivation when facing obstacles.

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References Bigthinkeditor. (2018, October 5). Elon Musk on Seeking Opportunities. Retrieved from https://bigthink.com/words-of-wisdom/elon-musk-on-seeking-opportunities Biography.com Editors. (2021, 02, 3). Elon Musk Biography. Retrieved from The Biography: https://www.biography.com/business-figure/elon-musk Blystone, D. (2020, January 29). Elon Musk's Early Years. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/061015/how-elon-musk-becameelon-musk.asp Elon Musk. (2014, April 2). Retrieved February 1, 2020, from https://www.biography.com/business-figure/elon-musk Elon Musk. (n.d.) In Wikipedia. Retrieved February 1, 2020, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk Elon Musk. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/profile/elon-musk/#2535ce777999 Gregersen, E. (2020, 08, 27). Elon Musk. Retrieved from Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elon-Musk Huddlestone Jr, T. (2018, 06 19). Elon Musk slept on his office couch and 'showered at the YMCA' while starting his first company. Retrieved from CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/19/how-elon-musk-founded-zip2-with-his-brotherkimbal.html Jackson, A. E. (2017, June 28). 6 Secret Ways Companies Are Trying to Prevent You from Quitting. Retrieved from https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/prevent-you-from-quitting/

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Jill, K. (2014, 03, 06). The Real Reason Elon Musk Became an Entrepreneur. Retrieved from Inc: https://www.inc.com/jill-krasny/elon-musk-tesla-motors-stanford-businessschool.html#:~:text=Musk%2C%20whom%20Inc.,(AI)%20and%20rewriting %20genetics Loudenback, T. (2020, January 30). Elon Musk made $2.3 billion in the hour after Tesla announced better than expected earnings. Here's how the eccentric CEO makes and spends his $33.6 billion fortune. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/teslaelon-musk-net-worth-2017-10 Loudenback, T., & Rogers, T. (2020, 08, 18). Elon Musk just made $8 billion in one day. Here's how the CEO makes and spends his $84.8 billion fortune. Retrieved from Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-elon-musk-net-worth-2017-10 Montag, A. (2018, March 16). Elon Musk explains his motivation to succeed: "There need to be things that inspire you". Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/16/elon-muskon-inspiration-and-success.html Musk, E. [ Elon Musk]. (2019, May). In recent years, the hours were much higher. Don't recommend it though — bad for health & happiness. But no choice or Tesla would die. Hope to reduce to 80 hours next year. [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp %5Etweetembed&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxbusiness.com%2Fbusinessleaders%2Felon-musks-tesla-work-schedule

Running Head: Entrepreneur Profile Research

Ross, S. (2020, January 29). Elon Musk Success Story: Net Worth, Education & Top Quotes. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/082515/elonmusk-success-story-net-worth-education-top-quotes.asp Sheetz, M. (2019, March 21). The rise of SpaceX and the future of Elon Musk's Mars dream. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/20/spacex-rise-elon-musk-marsdream.html Swenson, J. The Role of Genes, Environment and Deliberate Practice in the Development of a World-Class Entrepreneur. Retrieved from https://www.mnstate.edu/uploadedFiles/Magazine/Content/Fall_2017/Stories/The %20Role%20of%20Genes.pdf Wu, A. (2020, January 29). Tesla's Got the Keys: A History of Its Success. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/061915/story-behind-teslassuccess.asp Youshaei, J. (2018, March 6). Elon Musk's 10 Secrets to Success. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonyoushaei/2018/03/06/elon-musks-10-secrets-tosuccess/#6d4becf0281e

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