The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur: Taryn Rose at TEDxBayArea Ignite

Summary

In this inspiring talk, Teran shares her journey from an orthopedic surgeon to a successful entrepreneur, attributing her risk-taking nature to a genetic predisposition linked to the DRD4 gene. She emphasizes the importance of resourcefulness, networking, and love for one's venture as key to entrepreneurial success. Teran also highlights the role of luck, technology, and the power of perseverance in overcoming challenges and achieving goals, encouraging listeners to embrace their dreams and innovate.

Takeaways

• 🧬 The entrepreneur's DNA: Teran mentions a genetic predisposition linked to the dopamine receptor that influences risk tolerance, suggesting some people are biologically more inclined to embrace entrepreneurial ventures.
• 🌐 Historical context of entrepreneurship: The US has been shaped by immigrants, who are often risk-takers and entrepreneurs, contributing to the nation's entrepreneurial spirit.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family influence: Teran's family background as immigrants and adventurers has significantly influenced her entrepreneurial journey.
• 💡 Resourcefulness: Teran emphasizes the importance of being resourceful, opportunistic, and flexible, especially when starting a business with limited resources.
• 🎾 Adaptability: She shares her personal story of adapting to circumstances, such as convincing her father to let her play tennis instead of cheerleading, demonstrating the ability to reimagine possibilities.
• 🔗 Networking: Teran highlights the power of networking, using her experience of starting a shoe company without industry connections but successfully leveraging her network to find the right partners.
• ❤️ Love over passion: She differentiates between passion and love for one's work, suggesting that love, like for a family member, provides enduring commitment even in tough times.
• 🦸‍♀️ Bravery and courage: Teran discusses the need for bravery to overcome fears and take bold steps, which is essential for an entrepreneur facing numerous challenges and rejections.
• 🍀 Creating luck: She references a study suggesting that a positive mindset can increase one's luck, encouraging entrepreneurs to be vigilant for opportunities and to create their own luck.
• 💻 Technology's role: Teran acknowledges the role of technology in enhancing productivity and efficiency, allowing her to balance her entrepreneurial ventures with personal life.

Q & A

What is the significance of the DRD4 gene variant in relation to entrepreneurship?

The DRD4 gene variant, specifically DRD4-7R, is associated with a higher tolerance for risk, anxiety, and fear due to its effect on the dopamine receptor. This gene variant is more prevalent in individuals who have migrated far from their origins, which may contribute to a nation's entrepreneurial spirit.

How did Teran's family history influence her entrepreneurial journey?

Teran's family history as immigrants from Vietnam, who took significant risks to escape and start a new life in the United States, instilled in her a sense of adventure and risk-taking, which are traits common among entrepreneurs.

What is the importance of resourcefulness for an entrepreneur according to Teran?

Resourcefulness is crucial for entrepreneurs because startups often lack sufficient resources and face uncertain paths. Teran emphasizes the need to be opportunistic, flexible, and creative in the face of challenges.

Can you explain how Teran's father demonstrated resourcefulness during their escape from Vietnam?

Teran's father demonstrated resourcefulness by cold-calling physicians from a phone booth in a refugee camp in Arkansas, eventually securing sponsorship from a doctor and his wife, which allowed the family to settle in the United States.

What personal anecdote does Teran share to illustrate the concept of reimagining possibilities?

Teran shares the story of wanting to be a cheerleader but being discouraged by her father. She reimagined her possibilities by becoming a tennis player instead, showcasing her resourcefulness and determination.

How did Teran leverage networking to enter the shoe industry?

Teran used her networking skills to connect with individuals in the shoe industry by leveraging her retail therapy experiences and connections made at Barney's. This led to meetings with friends of friends who eventually helped her launch her first shoe collection.

What role did love play in Teran's entrepreneurial journey?

Love was a driving force for Teran, as she likened her commitment to her company to the unconditional love for her children. This love allowed her to persevere through challenging times without giving up.

How does Teran define the difference between luck and bravery in the context of entrepreneurship?

Teran defines luck as a mindset where one believes they are fortunate, which can lead to being in the right place at the right time. Bravery, on the other hand, is about overcoming fears and daring to take bold actions despite potential obstacles.

What advice does Teran give for increasing one's luck?

Teran advises to be creative, vigilant, and open to random opportunities. She also suggests networking, talking about one's dreams and projects, and maintaining a positive and approachable demeanor to attract luck.

How has technology played a role in Teran's life and her ability to balance work and personal life?

Technology, such as the Blackberry and later smartphones, allowed Teran to be productive and efficient, enabling her to manage her business while attending to her personal life, including her children's activities.

What is Teran's vision for the future of technology in relation to women's lives?

Teran envisions a future where technology enhances women's lives by improving productivity and efficiency, such as fashion accessories that monitor health or a network that connects people with products they admire.

Outlines

00:00

🧬 The Entrepreneurial Gene

The speaker, Teran, begins by discussing the genetic predisposition to entrepreneurship, highlighting a specific gene related to dopamine receptors that influences risk tolerance. She explains that individuals with the DRD4-7R variant, which has a longer amino acid chain, require more dopamine to feel excited, thus leading to a higher tolerance for risk and a propensity for boredom. Teran suggests that this genetic trait has been prevalent among immigrants to the US, contributing to the nation's entrepreneurial spirit. She shares her family's immigrant story, emphasizing their adventurous and risk-taking nature, which she believes influenced her own entrepreneurial journey.

05:00

💪 Resourcefulness: The Key to Entrepreneurship

Teran emphasizes the importance of resourcefulness for entrepreneurs, especially in the face of limited resources and uncertain paths. She recounts her own experiences, such as her father's resourceful actions to secure sponsorship in the US and her own determination to play tennis despite having no prior experience. She highlights the importance of creativity, practice, focus, and relentless persistence as key components of resourcefulness. Teran also discusses the value of networking, using her experience of starting a shoe company without industry connections but successfully leveraging her retail therapy habit to meet industry insiders.

10:02

💖 Love, Bravery, and Luck in Entrepreneurship

In this section, Teran shifts the focus to the emotional aspects of entrepreneurship, arguing that love, rather than mere passion, is what sustains entrepreneurs through tough times. She shares her personal journey of growing her company with a mother's love and the courage that comes from the heart. Teran also touches on the concept of luck, suggesting that it can be cultivated through a positive mindset and proactive behavior. She recounts a serendipitous opportunity that led to her appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show, which significantly boosted her sales. Lastly, she underscores the role of technology in enhancing productivity and efficiency, envisioning a future where technology and fashion intersect to improve lives.

Keywords

💡Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is an individual who creates and operates a business, often taking on financial risks in the hope of achieving financial and personal independence. In the video, the speaker shares her journey as an entrepreneur, emphasizing the importance of risk-taking and innovation. She discusses how her unlikely path as an orthopedic surgeon led her to start a shoe company, showcasing the entrepreneurial spirit of venturing into unfamiliar territories.

💡DNA and dr4D7 Gene

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the molecule that contains the genetic instructions for the development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms. The dr4D7 gene mentioned in the video is a variant of the dopamine receptor gene, which is associated with risk-taking behavior. The speaker suggests that having this gene variant might predispose individuals to be more tolerant of risk, which can be advantageous for entrepreneurship.

💡Resourcefulness

Resourcefulness refers to the ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties, typically with limited resources. The speaker emphasizes this trait as a crucial component for entrepreneurs, as they often face situations where they must make the most of what they have. She shares personal anecdotes, such as her father's resourceful actions to secure sponsorship for the family's move to the US, illustrating how resourcefulness can be a key to success.

💡Opportunistic

Being opportunistic means taking advantage of opportunities as they arise, often in a flexible and adaptable manner. In the context of the video, the speaker discusses how entrepreneurs must be opportunistic, as they often do not have a clear path to their goals. She gives examples from her own life, such as leveraging her retail therapy habit to network and gain access to the shoe industry.

💡Networking

Networking is the process of building and maintaining relationships with others, particularly to exchange information and assistance in professional or social contexts. The speaker highlights the importance of networking for entrepreneurs, as it can open doors to new opportunities and resources. She shares her experience of using networking to connect with individuals in the shoe industry, which eventually helped her launch her company.

💡Love

In the video, the speaker uses the term 'love' to describe the deep emotional connection and commitment one can have towards their work or company. She contrasts this with 'passion,' suggesting that love involves a longer-term commitment and a willingness to persevere through challenges. The speaker's love for her company is likened to the love for her children, indicating an unwavering dedication.

💡Bravery

Bravery is the ability to face and overcome fear, often in the pursuit of a goal. The speaker discusses bravery in the context of entrepreneurship, where one must be willing to take risks and face rejection. She shares her experiences of hearing many 'no's and facing challenges but still moving forward, which required a bold and intrepid spirit.

💡Luck

Luck is often considered a force that brings good fortune or adversity. In the video, the speaker explores the concept of luck and how it can be influenced by one's mindset and actions. She references Dr. Richard Wiseman's research, suggesting that individuals who believe they are lucky tend to create opportunities for themselves, thus increasing their chances of experiencing luck.

💡Technology

Technology refers to the tools, systems, and methods used to achieve specific goals, particularly in the context of the video, to enhance productivity and efficiency. The speaker discusses how technology has been instrumental in her entrepreneurial journey, allowing her to manage her business while also attending to personal responsibilities. She also envisions a future where technology further integrates with daily life, such as fashion accessories that monitor health.

💡Serial Entrepreneur

A serial entrepreneur is someone who has founded and run multiple businesses, often with a pattern of starting, growing, and selling companies. The speaker identifies herself as a serial entrepreneur, indicating a history of successful business ventures and a readiness to embark on new entrepreneurial endeavors.

Highlights

The speaker's unlikely path from orthopedic surgeon to founding a successful shoe company.

The role of genetic predisposition, specifically the DRD4 gene, in risk tolerance and entrepreneurship.

The historical connection between human migration and the prevalence of the DRD4 gene variant.

The speaker's personal story of her family's immigration and its influence on her entrepreneurial spirit.

The importance of resourcefulness for startup founders, especially when resources are scarce.

A personal anecdote about the speaker's father's resourcefulness as a refugee in Arkansas.

The speaker's experience of reimagining possibilities and the value of persistence.

The significance of networking in entrepreneurship and how it contributed to the speaker's business success.

The power of love as a driving force for entrepreneurs, beyond mere passion.

The concept of 'lucky' mindset and how it can be cultivated to increase opportunities.

The speaker's unexpected appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show and its impact on her business.

The role of technology in enhancing productivity and efficiency for entrepreneurs.

A vision of the future where technology and fashion intersect to improve women's lives.

The speaker's journey from DNA to becoming a serial entrepreneur, emphasizing the importance of resourcefulness, love, bravery, luck, and technology.

The importance of smiling and being open to opportunities as a means to increase luck.

Transcripts

join me in welcoming Teran to the

[Music]

stage due to my unlikely path as an

orthopedic surgeon who started a shoe

company out of her garage and took that

company to 40 million in 10 years I've

often been asked what does it take to be

an

entrepreneur well I think it starts with

having good

DNA there is a gene that codes for a

dopamine receptor that allows people to

tolerate risk

better in human migration studies

researchers have found that those who

have traveled furthest away from their

home had a higher prevalence of a form

of this Gene called dr4

D7 those who stayed behind had the more

common form called

dr-4 what

dr47 codes for is the amino acid chain

that's inside the dopamine receptor

complex and it repeats seven times

rather than the four times that you have

with

dr-4 so the increased amino acid chain

blunts the effect of the

neurotransmitter

dopamine so what does all this mean well

frankly it means it takes three times

the amount of dopamine to excite my

brain so I have a much higher tolerance

for risk and anxiety and fear I also get

bored

easily and what has happened in the US

as a nation is that we have self-

selected for these immigrants and

therefore the entrepreneurs and we have

such a great entrepreneurial country

because of that and we have these people

who are on the edge of the herd these

Mavericks out there to push to New

Frontiers now my own DNA came from my

parents who were not only immigrants

once but twice from North Vietnam to

South Vietnam from the South Vietnam to

the us at the end of the Vietnam War my

father risked his life and traveled in a

bus from the US Embassy to the airport

on the

floor in the final days of the

war he then had a woman's blouse on and

a woman's hat and carried my two sisters

along the tarmac in a very dangerous

walked aboard that plane in the meantime

I was seven and totally excited that we

were going to

America and even when I heard the

machine guns start to fire as we took

off it still didn't frighten

me our family are people of adventurers

and Risk

Takers my youngest sister is an

entrepreneur as well my third sister has

lived all over the world in service to

UNICEF

and only one second sister stayed in the

Seattle suburbs to be in

OBGYN so what if you don't have this DNA

what can you do to be a good

entrepreneur well you must have

resourcefulness because as a startup

founder you never have enough resources

and you don't know the clear path to

your destination so you must always be

opportunistic and flexible

I was taught this at an early age so

once we escaped from Vietnam and we

ended up on Wake Island and there we

were asked where would you like to go

which refugee camp in the US my father

said Camp Pendleton because he actually

had some friends and distant relatives

in California who could help

him so after many many hours of

traveling and crossing the Pacific Ocean

the plane finally landed and we were so

ecstatic

when the plane door opened until we

found out we were in

Arkansas so I would challenge any of you

today to find a stranger in Arkansas

who's willing to sign and say that

they'd be financially responsible for

you this is what my father faced in

1975 so what he did was he went to the

phone booth and he started cold calling

physicians in the Yellow

Pages because he thought one physician

would help

another luckily one of his calls to a

doctor's office because when was the

last time you actually got a doctor in a

doctor's office the wife of the doctor

answered the phone because she ran his

office and she said I will call you back

tomorrow after I've had a chance to

discuss this with my

husband that was great news except for

he was at a phone booth in a refugee

camp so the next day he had to fend

people off convince them to keep their

conversation short in hopes that the

call would come and indeed Dr and Mrs

KCK did sponsor us in

1975 and I'd like to pause to make a

comment that the United States is not

only full of entrepreneurs it is full of

the most generous people in the

world

so so I learned from my experience at a

very young age to be resourceful and in

ninth grade I made the cheerleading team

and I was so excited because I was the

biggest geek and I wanted to be popular

and wear the short

skirts you see in the picture I'm I'm

wearing a short

skirt so I came home so excited to tell

my parents and my dad said uh-uh

absolutely not you are not standing on

the sidelines and cheering for others

when you can participate in a

sport so I'm like well how am I supposed

to wear the short skirt and play a sport

and then I reimagined my possibilities

and said tennis they wear cute short

skirts the problem was I'd never played

tennis

before so I went to the High School

tennis coach and I pitched him on me

being his assistant in exchange for

borrowing a racket some lessons after

practice and rides home after school CU

my mother wasn't going to pick me

up then I practice all Summer Long in

the middle of the Missouri heat because

I thought that would make me so much

stronger when the season started again

and indeed in three years I did make it

to the state championship in California

but what this story tells about are the

components of resourcefulness that even

a youngster can have so in a time of

necessity I was

creative and then in order to ex execute

on my new reimagined

possibilities I practiced I studied I

focused on my area of

focus and then of course there was just

Relentless

persistence another component of

resourcefulness that's so important is

networking when I started as an

orthopedic surgeon and I wanted to start

a shoe company I didn't know anyone in

the shoe industry but I was a really

good

shopper you know Ortho was very

stressful I needed a lot of retail

therapy so I called myself salesperson

SL therapist at Barney and I said hey

you know those two guys that are always

visiting you from Italy every August do

you think they might know someone in the

shoe industry well as luck would have it

one owned a shoe factory and the other

one owned a

Tannery So within weeks I had set up a

meeting to meet friends of a friend who

eventually helped me with my first

collection but even getting to Milan to

meet these guys required resourcefulness

because when I called the travel agent

to book the trip she laughed and said

you have got to be the pope to get a

room during this time there's the

fashion shows the car show the furniture

show The Shoe Show closest I can get you

is 200 kmers

away well this wasn't really acceptable

to me so I called up Heather from Gucci

and said Heather can't you call

headquarters I mean Gucci must have

blocks of room somewhere in Milan so my

my first stay in Milan was actually at a

topnotch five-star hotel at the Gucci

corporate rate of 70% off

rack yeah those were days before we

shopped online so

now what I find is the next component of

a successful founder and that is

love 15 years ago I probably would have

used the word passion

and you often hear entrepreneurs having

passion and we do we must have it but

passion describes more of the intensity

of your

feelings but having been through

personal experience and growth of having

three children of reuniting with the

love of my

life I know now that what I was

experiencing with my company was I was

loving my

company because just as I wouldn't

abandon my children I wouldn't abandon

in my company even though there were

dark times even though there were

moments when I didn't have any answers

when it felt so uncomfortable and all I

wanted to do was quit and it was so

daunting and just as you would be with

someone you love I approached my company

with absolute vulnerability which means

that I acted without any

guarantees I invested time and money

without knowing if it will actually

work and yet I approached it with

courage and what I mean by that is that

courage comes from the Latin word core

the

heart it was my inner strength and my

heartfelt love for what I was doing that

carried me through and also the

authenticity in my message that

resonated so well with my

customers related to courage is bravery

but I find it is slightly different

bravery is about overcoming your fears

and then being daring with an Intrepid

boldness because I heard a lot of NOS I

heard a lot of impossible

can't uh price too low price too high

whatever it was but I still had to go

down the path even though at times I was

Lonely at the

Top I was also very lucky you think you

can get lucky well research shows that

you can actually get more

lucky Dr Richard wisman spent a decade

studying this topic and he wrote a book

called The Lucky factor and what he

found was that lucky people had a

different

mindset they thought they were lucky so

they were in the right place at the

right time in the right frame of mind

and his subjects actually were able to

increase their luck in 80% of them did

and some of them only took a month to

show a 40% increase in luck so whether

you're lucky or you're an entrepreneur

you always need to be creative and be

vigilant and on the lookout for the

random opportunities that may arise in

your life such as in 2001 I was really

lucky and I was on the Oprah Winfrey

Show which took me by the way from 8

million in sales to 16 million in 12

months now I had pitched to be on her

show but that wasn't how I ended up on

her show what happened was her producer

saw me on a show that I did called

radical sabatical it was on a minor

Network nobody saw it except for this

producer and it she the story was very

much in fitting with this show that they

were doing about people who were chasing

their dreams so I had Oprah on national

TV saying quote Taran you make great

shoes on a show that had nothing to do

about

shoes it was about making dreams come

true so that illustrates the elements of

how you can be

luckier get out there and network talk

about your dreams talk about your

projects talk about yourself network

with the

people and practice being in that state

of mind do the small shows that you

think no one's ever going to see talk to

the junior reporter talk to the admin

that is waiting to answer your

calls and First of and first and

foremost smile at people because people

are opportunities and if you smile at

them perhaps luck will smile on

you the other necessary component of

being an entrepreneur these days is

technology during the 10 years that I

built the company I also have three

children so so while I thought I could

have it all I didn't have time for it

all and I'm ever so grateful for the

Blackberry which my daughter used to

call the blueberry because it made me as

productive at her ballet recital as if I

was in the

office and just today I was FaceTiming

her and booking my flight back to LA and

having Siri text my partner all at the

same time and I do believe that

technology will continue to improve in

particular women's lives to improve our

productivity and

efficiency imagine a world where our

fashion accessories can monitor our

health imagine a world where we have a

network connecting people and products

so that you see a woman walking down the

street and you can buy her dress if you

like it that and a and a comfortable

pair of stilettos and we do have it

all so I was pretty well formed a i five

years old with my

DNA but I spent 40 years building more

resourcefulness learning how to love

becoming braver getting

lucky and using technology to improve my

life and I stand here

today A Serial entrepreneur ready to

launch again

[Applause]