1st-Generation Entrepreneur

(seated – Mary Jean Notario Cruz of Greenfund, Michael Chen of HBS, Erika Tatad of Hapinoy; standing – moi and Arnel Casanova of AsiaSociety)

Earlier today we had a meeting with Michael Chen, Executive Director of the Harvard Business School Asia-Pacific Research Center.

He was in town exploring possible case studies of interest for HBS. And through Harvard Alumni Arnel Casanova, we – meaning Erika Tatad (Director for Operations of MicroVentures), Reese Fernandez (President of Rags2Riches), and myself – were invited to have a conversation to share our experience.

Amidst the usual discussions on Hapinoy and Rags2Riches, Michael had an interesting question. He asked if my parents were entrepreneurs. And I answered ‘no’ – my mother was a corporate lifer (30+ years in one company until she retired) and my father a civil engineer. It was far removed from entrepreneurial DNA as one could get.

And so now, thinking back at it, that question stuck. It got me mulling about generations of entrepreneurs, of the classic joke that the 1st generation starts the enterprise, the 2nd generation grows it, and the 3rd generation squanders it all away.

Obviously, I’m first-generation. Why the desire to take this path suddenly sprouted in me I honestly have no answer. But it did, and so I’m here.

And now I realize that this current experience of starting-up is perhaps the one most suited for me. Because I’m the kind that likes diving into the unexplored lands and figuring out new areas of opportunity. Of bootstrapping and starting from scratch. Of treading one’s own path.

It’s a heck of a headache, yes. But perhaps there’s no other place I’d rather be.

I just hope that during my lifetime, I’ll also able to enjoy the fulfillment and fruits of my work. And that when things do work out, I hope my 3rd generation doesn’t squander what I’m spending my life to build.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 at 8:00 pm and is filed under Entrepreneurship, Hapinoy, Rags2Riches. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.