How to find your unfair advantage – and succeed as an entrepreneur
It’s not just upbringing and hard work that determine entrepreneurial success. Harnessing your internal strengths and even converting adversity into opportunity are key, according to the compelling book The Unfair Advantage: How Startup Success Starts With You, by Ash Ali and Hasan Kubba.
Here are my takeaways from this must-read book, summarised as well in Table 1.
The role of unfair advantage
Grit, perseverance, hustle, talent, passion, and discipline are certainly important for a startup’s success, along with its business model and teamwork. But life is not a pure meritocracy, and what also helps is having family wealth, connections, and education. This extends to the city of upbringing and even passport…
Unfair advantages and founders
A number of founders have effectively leveraged their unfair advantage, though these specific privileges may not have been highlighted as such in the media. Examples include Snapchat’s Evan Spiegel, who had wealthy well-connected parents, and an upbringing which helped build confidence and effective behaviour.
