Professor Saurav Pathak shares insights on what drives entrepreneurial success on RVA Today
What truly makes an entrepreneur successful? According to William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business Associate Professor Saurav Pathak, it’s not just about having a big idea or access to funding—it’s about mindset, culture, and connection.
Pathak recently joined host Heather Rikers on RVA Today to discuss the personal traits and cultural factors that shape successful entrepreneurs around the world. Drawing on his extensive research, he highlighted four key traits that distinguish thriving entrepreneurs: curiosity, perseverance, adaptability, and empathy.
“At the end of the day, entrepreneurship is also about giving back to the community,” Pathak explained. “Empathy helps entrepreneurs establish strong relationships, share risks, and build ventures that thrive together with their communities.”
A global scholar of entrepreneurship, Pathak studies how culture influences the way people approach risk and opportunity. He noted that in many parts of Asia and Latin America, entrepreneurs tend to approach risk collectively while testing and refining ideas within networks of trust before scaling their ventures.
“In more individualistic societies like the U.S., the focus is often on bolder and faster experimentation,” he said. “Both have strengths. The lesson for leaders here in Virginia is to blend those strengths and combine our appetite for innovation with a collaborative, long-term approach to building resilient organizations.”
Pathak also emphasized how these lessons are applied in the classroom at William & Mary. He believes that research should inform experiential learning, helping students apply theory to real-world contexts.
“We constantly work on developing a global mindset,” Pathak shared. “Students learn to test ideas in real time, collaborate across cultures, and most importantly, bounce back from setbacks and failures.”
He noted that this hands-on approach fosters curiosity, collaboration, and cultural awareness —essential skills for leaders in today’s ever-changing world.
“Students don’t just learn business concepts,” Pathak said. “They work alongside global researchers, and there’s a true marriage between what we teach and the scholarship that drives it.”