Entrepreneurship is on the rise with many business graduates opting to start their own business over corporate life in an established firm.

Personally, I believe graduates would be much better off getting at least 5 years experience in a corporate environment where they can make all the mistakes they like at someone else’s expense.  Evenings and weekends can be used to conduct market research for a new idea.

We’ve all been bored with answers to the question “Are entrepreneurs born or made?”  And, we’ve all probably sat through tedious responses from ‘experts’ which are based on small samples and very little scientific research.

But is there a set of personality traits or a magic formula that produces entrepreneurs, or what type of person is most likely to become an entrepreneur?

It turns out that entrepreneurship is the ultimate white privilege, as the research from this article points out.  In fact, the most commonly shared trait amongst entrepreneurs is access to money and that while entrepreneurs do have an enviable appetite for risk, it’s usually that access to money which allows them to take those risks.

In other words, it’s easier to be creative and take risks when you know you have a safety net.  As data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor shows, more than 80% of funding for new businesses comes from personal savings and friends and family.

While resilience is undoubtedly a necessary characteristic for entrepreneurial success, with many notable entrepreneurs having experienced failure with previous endeavours, it appears, after all, that entrepreneurs don’t have a special gene for risk – they just come from families with money.