Birth Order and the Entrepreneur at punctuative! by Matt Winn

Birth Order and the Entrepreneur

Published by Matt October 20th, 2007 in Entrepreneurship, Science and Tech, VC

Life’s full of randomness. Some thinkers even encourage seeking it out as stimulus or influence. But as Jeffrey Kluger nicely sets up his most recent reportage, ”Of all the things that shape who we are, few seem more arbitrary than the sequence in which we and our siblings pop out of the womb.” Yup.

It’s easy, I think, to fall into generalized discussion of birth order implications, and hard to quantify or demonstrate statistically significant data upon psychological attributes or behavioral measures. Those that are effectively “tempering” the science deserve credit and attention. In his recent Time piece on the subject, Kluger ends up highlighting research work from a variety of sources. Of interest to the venture set, he notes the following from Ben Dattner, a business consultant and NYU professor:

Firstborn ceos, for example, do best when they’re making incremental improvements in their companies: shedding underperforming products, maximizing profits from existing lines and generally making sure the trains run on time. Later-born ceos are more inclined to blow up the trains and lay new track. “Later-borns are better at transformational change,” says Dattner. “They pursue riskier, more innovative, more creative approaches.”

Perhaps Dattner’s conclusions offer a logical extension of long-standing birth order generalities. They certainly describe personality archetypes that investors are used to assessing and utilizing in appropriate scenarios. But is birth order a standard management due diligence question? Absolutely not. Should it be? I don’t think so. In truth, though, I’d like to hear more about the analysis behind the conclusions and determine both the validity and significance of correlation. Let’s remember that “the plural of anecdote is not data” and exceptions will always abound.

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Photo credit: Chris & Tarah, originally uploaded by Joyseph

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5 Responses to “Birth Order and the Entrepreneur”

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1 Naomi Dunford Oct 20th, 2007 at 11:26 pm

Fascinating stuff. I always wondered where I fell in the birth order thing - I have two older brothers, but since they were so much older I didn’t live with them and was raised as an only child. Thinking about the article you quote, I guess I behave more like a later-born entrepreneur. What great food for thought!

Thanks for the interesting article.
2 Matt Oct 22nd, 2007 at 6:36 pm

Naomi,

Having peeked at your blog (which I’d recommend to fellow readers - http://ittybiz.com), it sounds like you’ve “inherited” the scrappy entrepreneur gene from your mom. In the paraphrased words of a VC I respect, the study of psychology may better prepare one for VC (though I’d substitute “business”) than anything else.

Best,
Matt
3 Naomi Dunford Oct 22nd, 2007 at 7:28 pm

Hi Matt, and thanks again for stopping by IttyBiz. I have to tell my Mom you think she’s scrappy - she’ll be delighted! I agree, in VC, in business, and especially in marketing, if you know how people think, you’re 95% of the way there.

I’ve heard it said many times, no matter what business you’re in, you’re actually in marketing. I think the same could be said for psychology.

Naomi
4 Jun Loayza Nov 30th, 2007 at 2:21 am

Hi Matt,

Birth order is a very fascinating subject. I always hear about the generalities that the first born is always analytical while the second born is creative and artistic. The first born likes order and is disciplined while the second born is a free spirit and a rebel. Well it is absolutely true in my case.

My younger brother is currently at Musicians Institute in Hollywood. As for me, I just resigned from my corporate job last week to pursue my startup venture full time! I truly feel passionate about my company and can see how every ounce of hard work that I put into it creates true value.

Another related and fascinating topic are only childs. All - well really a majority - of my friends that are only childs have very outgoing personalities and seem to have a bajillion friends. I asked my business partner Yu-kai ,who is an only child, about it and he said that since he didn’t grow up with a sibling to constantly talk to, he truly cherishes the times when he does get to talk to someone. That’s why I always see him talking on the phone or actively talking to someone. Just my two cents.

Best,

Jun Loayza
http://www.junloayza.com
5 Matt Dec 6th, 2007 at 7:43 am

Thanks, Jun, and congratulations on your step into the startup world!

Best,
Matt