BOSI/Entrepreneurial DNA was first discovered in the fall of 2008 by our founder Joe Abraham in his startup incubator/SMB accelerator in Chicago. At the time of the discovery Joe was helping a handful of companies ideate, raise capital, launch and grow.
However, Joe noticed the founders of these portfolio companies growing in frustration. Despite double and triple digit growth, it felt like trying to fit square pegs into round holes. Each company founders was in the zone with certain tasks – but struggled with others. Each company founder had a pattern of behavior that was similar to other founders but very different than others.
What worked for one entrepreneur wasn’t working for every entrepreneur.
As the frustration grew, Joe knew he had to do some poking around to find a better solution than a one-size-fits-all approach to building companies. Several weeks of online research and Q&A with experts kept leading to dead ends. Everyone (even the top professors, incubators, strategists and serial entrepreneurs) were operating from a one-size-fits-all playbook.
So with no real solution available in the market, Joe went to work on his study. First, he did a subjective analysis of the thousands of entrepreneurs he had worked with over the previous 15 years. A pattern started to emerge…
“Bill and Sue have some traits in common. John and Hossain do too. But John and Hossain are nothing like Bill and Sue”.
As Joe sat at his desk scribbling out some notes about people he knew, the names (and traits) began to segment themselves. BOSI was born that day.
But that was the beginning of the journey.
Over the next 28 months, thousands of entrepreneurs from around the world were invited to participate in online surveys, telephone interviews and in-office meetings. In the case of about 20 companies, Joe worked with the business owners over several months studying their behavior, challenges, frustrations and victories.
- 55% of participants were male, 45% female
- 72% were US based, 28% were outside the US (but all English speaking)
- 35% had employees, 30% were solopreneurs/self-employed, the rest were budding or retired entrepreneurs
- Average revenue was $2.34 million. High revenue was $180 million. Low revenue was $0
- 35 different industries were represented (from MLM and Restaurant to Digital Tech and Manufacturing)
The pattern began to solidify.
By 2010, there was enough data to support the writing of the book Entrepreneurial DNA. But the research continued (and still does).
Today, professors at multiple business schools in the USA, Spain and India are conducting validation research on BOSI – and they’re excited about the results. At bosiDNA.com, we’re on pace to have several hundred thousand business owners take the BOSI Assessment. Incoming data is being studied and analyzed on an ongoing basis.
If you’re a b-2-b company that targets small business owners, learn about how we can equip your team with breakthrough marketing strategy and sales training.
If you’re a service provider (especially a coach, consultant or advisor) to business owners, you owe it to yourself to learn about BOSI and Entrepreneurial DNA. More importantly, get certified and join our global network of partners.
You’ll be glad you did!
