This applies to large companies too - what helps a shaky enterprise survive and succeed is a CEO that believes in its potential and digs in for the long haul to nurture its growth. We know all about Jobs and Apple. The story of Ariba is less well-known. I was one of those who was surprised that Ariba was still around when I heard it was to be bought by SAP for $4.3 billion. Today's article on Ariba story and CEO Robert Calderoni in the Merc News reminded me again why persistence is a virtue in CEOs.
Too many entrepreneurs think if you don't make it big fast you might as well get out ('go big, or go home'). That may be true for some companies/industries, but it is certainly not universal. For sure it could be difficult to stay with a venture that doesn't produce enough revenue to pay the team, but that's why entrepreneurship is not for everyone, regardless of the prevailing hype. True entrepreneurs stick with it as long as they can see there's potential in their vision - they bootstrap, moonlight, crowdfund, whatever they can do to keep the fire burning. (For sure, Ariba didn't have to go ask Granny for funds, but they had the same problem - at a different scale - of staying afloat and re-tooling their business.)
The trait of determination is even more critical for social entrepreneurs. All change is hard, and effecting social change definitely takes a patience, learning and perseverance. The people who need to change the way they live, work, eat or learn may not be ready to do so just because you have this wonderful idea to make it all better, even if it costs nothing. Behavioral change takes time, and may require many failed efforts before hitting a successful model, which means the company needs a CEO who's willing to stick with the vision and do what it takes.
In an earlier post I'd quoted Randy Komisar on entrepreneurs matching up to different breeds of dogs at different stages of a company's evolution. One important breed got missed there - bulldog!