Crazy like an entrepreneur

There was a recent NYT article about a young entrepreneur who could be described as 'hypomanic' - "grandiosity, an elevated and expansive mood, racing thoughts and little need for sleep" - and how these very qualities which could signal a borderline mental disorder are what could be best for an entrepreneur.

Sure, entrepreneurs are often called 'crazy' - they take risks, are overly enthusiastic about their ideas which don't seem practical, and have enormous confidence in their abilities to pull off something that looks iffy at best. Steve Jobs famously exhorted would be entrepreneurs to 'stay foolish'. So it should be nothing new - but this article focuses on what may be an extreme version of it. There is some of the next Zuckerberg glamor/clamor with investors hunting for brainy (and arrogant?) college dropouts with grand ideas for the next big thing a la Facebook. It doesn't seem to apply to entrepreneurs who go after ideas like the next generation fuel cells or a new heart valve or a better way to offer customer service - the stuff that may need deeper education or experience along with fire and faith - it is more about the brilliant college dropout with a tech game-changer. The entrepreneur profiled fits the bill of brilliance, obsessiveness, exhibiting single-mindedness from early childhood etc. Of course, he doesn't have any interest in a social life either. And while all entrepreneurs have to give up much of their 'ordinary life' to work on their startups, giving up all of it doesn't seem to be a smart move. Focus is necessary, tunnel vision is not, and entrepreneurs need people skills too, though the examples mentioned in the article don't seem to display much of the latter. Steve Jobs is cited as an example of another hypomanic entrepreneur and described as 'a despot and a control freak' - probably not the dream boss for most people.

There's the suggestion that highly successful entrepreneurs are not only extremely passionate and driven, but that the top priority in their lives is their venture, not the people, not even their families (many of them are young and single when they start). You can read the article here, but in my view, the world also needs, and offers hope for, entrepreneurs who are not going to be the next Zuckerberg or Jobs.