Interview with Jon Fjeld(5)

2007-02-12 18:04:09 Zong Xing[ Big Normal Small ]

　　Z: Any other advice would you give to an aspiring young entrepreneur?

　　F: I told the students that I teach that, being an entrepreneur, being the CEO of a start-up company is the most fun job you can have working. As long as you are willing to accept the hardship and the pressure comes with it, there is no more fun that you can have in a job than doing that.

　　Z: Last few questions about the whole atmosphere favoring the entrepreneurship. Why America cultivates so many entrepreneurs?

　　F: In a European country, if you start up a company and fail, people would think that’s very negative and would look down on you. In the U.S., you tried and it didn’t work out, move on to the next thing, nobody thinks that’s negative. If you penalize for failures, you can’t have entrepreneurs, because most of the time, it’s not going to work. It’s just sometimes that ideas work. It has to be OK to try and fail. This is the culture that’s very accepting of people who make a good effort and then fail.
　　 You can go and get money for the second time; you can get people to work with you. Nobody looks down on you. That’s very important.

　　Z: That’s culture that this country has established and deeply rooted.

　　F: You know, another thing, you are born in China, I am born in Norway. This is a country that has been very accepting for quite a while. Traditionally it accepts people from all different cultures. So it’s very open to new ideas, new ways of doing things. Even people who are politically very conservative are personally very open. That’s the strength of this culture, I think. You don’t necessarily see this in other places. It’s a very welcoming place. This makes it easier for entrepreneurs to succeed.

　　Z: Thanks, Jon, for sharing your insights on this exciting topic.

　　F: You are very welcome.