Silicon Valley Exponential Mindset: What do the Greatest Entrepreneurs have in common?

n an increasingly fickle world, there are characteristics that an entrepreneur must maintain in order to succeed in the marketplace. The first two are purpose and courage.

"More and more people are searching for their purpose. Weall want to have meaning that goes far beyond the short term," explains Pedro Brito, adding that this is one of the most important lessons to be taken from the mecca of innovation. "In Silicon Valley, you look for Massive Transformational Purpose. More than the mission or vision of a company, purpose "in organisations makes it possible to attract the right people, managing to more easily align individual purpose with that of the companies".

"It all starts with a purpose, because you reach a moment when money is no longer the main flame that moves people to keep building relevant things. I'll give you an example: Google already reached its financial peak 10 years ago, but it continues to invest [in technology] that will impact not only this generation, but also future generations," adds Felipe Lamounier, who has lived and studied the dynamics in Silicon Valley for five years. "Ellon Musk is one of the biggest names in global entrepreneurship. When he left Paypal, he put more than $2 billion in his pocket. He could have stopped by now, but he went back to the market and invested in Tesla, created SpaceX and Solar City. An empire. All this because of purpose. This is a very strong element here in Silicon Valley."

The permanent courage to take risks, even knowing that one might lose, is what leads some people to triumph in the business world. And "rebellion", guarantees Felipe Lamounier. People in Silicon Valley "are, by nature, questioners. They are always wondering why things have been done the same way for so long", and they dare to think of new solutions.

Ingredients for success, but which can also lead to the downfall of many. However, Pedro Brito points out that error is a great tool for growth. This "valley of deception is also a brutal lesson for entrepreneurs and managers. Entrepreneurship also goes through this valley: taking unpopular decisions and taking risks".

This willingness to learn is one of the most important characteristics of anyone who wants to be successful. Because, in a world of constant change, the best weapon is even to prevent future scenarios.

"No one could predict in 2019 the year we were going to have in 2020. The world is increasingly unpredictable, more uncertain, and we as human beings and professionals have always clung to predictability. That predictability is going to be increasingly uncertain. So how can we prepare for uncertain times? A lot of that preparation can be learned from people who are here in Silicon Valley, because when you create something new you are creating the uncertain, dealing withthe uncertain. It was for this reason that Nova SBE Executive Education and StatSE created the xBA - Exponential Business Administration programmeto bring people who have always worked in uncertainty, in risk, challenging the status quo, to share their knowledge", explains Felipe Lamounier.

"Given the speed of the world's transformations, what we thought we would do with this partnership was precisely a programme that could bring people who are building relevant things and technologies now, ahead in the management of companies and who are executing this transformation, to teach in training leaders for these new times, for this new world." Such big-sounding names, in fact, that one of the teachers of this programme is Steve Blank, the man responsible for the term start-up, and Ellon Musk's first "boss".

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