Karel J. Samsom – författare

Ambition, perseverance, intuition, creativity, responsibility, but above all: passion. Those are the terms that help me describe entrepreneurship. Whether you are young or old, man or woman, minority or majority, healthy or disabled, it is the passion for building new ventures and finding new roads that characterizes the entrep- neur. You have to believe in yourself, your team, your product, your company and in your customers. You have to be pragmatic and rational in your approach. But it is the passion that makes you successful. In my own entrepreneurial life, I have covered experiences from working on the grocery shop floor to building the family retail company out into Europe, then the US, then other parts of the world. After my retirement from the executive board of the retail company my grandfather started in 1887, Royal Ahold, I started a whole new exciting chapter in my entrepreneurial life by opening a shop and a restaurant in my new hometown of Hereford, England. The restaurant world is a new one that gives me fun and satisfaction by engaging in new and exciting ch- lenges. Cooking is like entrepreneurship; it is only possible with… passion. So- times things get burned, but there is always a sense of fulfillment when things s- ceed in the way you want them to. It is through mistakes and setbacks that you can value your achievements.

Ambition, perseverance, intuition, creativity, responsibility, but above all: passion. Those are the terms that help me describe entrepreneurship. Whether you are young or old, man or woman, minority or majority, healthy or disabled, it is the passion for building new ventures and finding new roads that characterizes the entrep- neur. You have to believe in yourself, your team, your product, your company and in your customers. You have to be pragmatic and rational in your approach. But it is the passion that makes you successful. In my own entrepreneurial life, I have covered experiences from working on the grocery shop floor to building the family retail company out into Europe, then the US, then other parts of the world. After my retirement from the executive board of the retail company my grandfather started in 1887, Royal Ahold, I started a whole new exciting chapter in my entrepreneurial life by opening a shop and a restaurant in my new hometown of Hereford, England. The restaurant world is a new one that gives me fun and satisfaction by engaging in new and exciting ch- lenges. Cooking is like entrepreneurship; it is only possible with… passion. So- times things get burned, but there is always a sense of fulfillment when things s- ceed in the way you want them to. It is through mistakes and setbacks that you can value your achievements.

Ambition, perseverance, intuition, creativity, responsibility, but above all: passion. Those are the terms that help me describe entrepreneurship. Whether you are young or old, man or woman, minority or majority, healthy or disabled, it is the passion for building new ventures and finding new roads that characterizes the entrep- neur. You have to believe in yourself, your team, your product, your company and in your customers. You have to be pragmatic and rational in your approach. But it is the passion that makes you successful. In my own entrepreneurial life, I have covered experiences from working on the grocery shop floor to building the family retail company out into Europe, then the US, then other parts of the world. After my retirement from the executive board of the retail company my grandfather started in 1887, Royal Ahold, I started a whole new exciting chapter in my entrepreneurial life by opening a shop and a restaurant in my new hometown of Hereford, England. The restaurant world is a new one that gives me fun and satisfaction by engaging in new and exciting ch- lenges. Cooking is like entrepreneurship; it is only possible with… passion. So- times things get burned, but there is always a sense of fulfillment when things s- ceed in the way you want them to. It is through mistakes and setbacks that you can value your achievements.

"When you are doing something that is a brand new adventure, breaking new ground, whether it is something like a techno­ logical breakthrough or simply a way of living that is not what the community can help you with, there is always the danger of too much enthusiasm, of neglecting certain mechan­ ical details. Then you fall off. ''A danger path this is. '' When you follow the path of your desire and enthusiasm and emotion, keep your mind in control, and don''t let it pull you compulsively into disaster. " Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth Through ten years of working with and observing scientists in the bio­ medical fields, I have found Joseph Campbell''s words to be especially applicable to the scientist who decides to embark on an entrepreneurial journey. Joseph Campbell was not a student of entrepreneurship. His scholarship was contained in a series of comprehensive studies of mythology, the captivating stories of mankind''s search over the ages for truth, meaning and significance. Still, his advice here contains many of the essential ingredients of successful science-based venturing: the charting of new ground socially, technological breakthroughs, enthusiasm and emotion balanced by careful reasoning, and finally, awareness of the danger of neglecting details. Coming from such a different philosophical and occupational culture into entrepreneurship and business, the scientist faces extraordinary challenges although the rewards of putting together a successful company can be equally satisfying.