 Royal P. Farros
CEO and Chairman
iPrint Inc.
Moffet Field, CA
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 B.S. -
Industrial Engineering, Stanford University
M.S. -
Industrial Engineering, Stanford University |
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President and CEO |
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"By working in large
and small companies and going to graduate school, one picks up
useful ideas and experiences that may pay off later on." |
 
"I always hate to say that entrepreneurs are so brave and so courageous
and, you know, that's not true, you know. But you have to be able to live
with a certain amount of risk. You know, there's a lot of entrepreneurs
that I know that are, that are very conservative and, and very risk
adverse, but it's an environment that you really want to get involved
with."
As founder of iPrint, Incorporated, Royal P. Farros looks for employees
who have the entrepreneurial spirit, just like him. "I look for a certain
passion or a certain tenacity. I look for common sense. I also look for
people who have [worked in a new enterprise] before or are very eager to
do it for the first time." To make a start-up successful requires
tremendous effort. "It's not just the people who found companies, but it's
also the people who are participating in the company" that make it
succeed. By giving employees stock options, he brings on board other
entrepreneurs.
The three most important qualities that entrepreneurs have to have are
tenacity, energy, and a sense of responsibility. Tenacity is absolutely
necessary. An entrepreneur has to be willing to "work through the bad
times" because, Farros adds, "in a start-up there are definitely bad
times." There are days when there are no customers, and one has to find a
way to bring them in.
A high level of energy is also crucial because of the amount of work the
entrepreneur has to do not to mention the many different tasks. "The way I
like to describe people who belong in small companies is as people who
don't mind putting big granite blocks on their shoulders and moving
something along." As Farros points out, that requires the entrepreneur to
be adaptable. "That means wearing a lot of hats. That means being able to
organize your time."
But Farros explains that the most important single quality necessary to
start a business is a great sense of responsibility. He describes a
typical situation: "you've got ten more e-mails, it's ten o'clock at
night, and you could either push them off `till the next day or you can
get them done tonight. Those ten may be a variety of things sales
opportunities or customer support types of issues. But [the entrepreneur
has] the responsibility to say. . .the buck stops here. Someone's got to
get them done. If they're not done, then I'm the one that has to do it."
Finally, Farros reminds would-be entrepreneurs that starting a business is
a risk. One has to be excited enough about the project to be able to live
with the risk. "There are a lot of entrepreneurs that are very
conservative and very risk adverse," but they can handle the risk because
they are committed to their projects. Farros advises that one shop an idea
around before investing in the product. Work out a business plan to see if
the idea is likely to succeed. Those who do not yet have an idea can put
their time to good use. "You still want to be doing something that will
set you up, so that you will come up with an idea." By working in large
and small companies and going to graduate school, one picks up useful
ideas and experiences that may pay off later on.
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