Across markets, new ventures face steep odds: about 30% fail within the first two years, and roughly 50% don’t survive past five, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2024/2025. What’s more, fear of failure is on the rise: nearly half of people who see good business opportunities say they hesitate to act because of the risk involved.
Contrary to popular belief, the reality highlights a crucial truth: entrepreneurship is about learning to work with uncertainty, rather than avoiding it.
That mindset was at the heart of our latest workshop, Start with what you have, get more done with less: The Entrepreneurial Way, hosted last month at BISM, and guided by Joe Tabet, Entrepreneur Advisor and INSEAD Lecturer. Read more to discover key takeaways.
Effectuation, a framework developed by Professor Saras Sarasvathy (2001), describes how expert entrepreneurs make decisions when the future is unpredictable.
Instead of waiting for perfect plans or external funding, they start with what they already have - their skills, network, and available means - and co-create opportunities through action and partnerships.
Joe reminded participants that entrepreneurship isn’t about predicting the future or taking reckless risks - it’s about being comfortable with uncertainty and knowing how to mitigate “affordable loss” instead of betting everything on one idea.
Joe invited participants to look beyond the myth of the “risk-taking entrepreneur.”
He used the rise and fall of WeWork as a vivid example: Adam Neumann played the game big and left with hundreds of millions, but many investors lost because they didn’t understand the rules of uncertainty under which they were playing.
These discussions anchored a key takeaway: in entrepreneurship, controlling downside matters more than predicting returns.
One exercise contrasted two ways of planning a dinner party.
The causal way starts with a menu, then searches for the ingredients, tools, and people needed to execute it.
The effectual way starts by checking what’s already in your fridge, who might bring what, and co-creating the experience as it unfolds.
That mindset shift, from prediction to co-creation, is what allows entrepreneurs to move forward even in high uncertainty.
Throughout the session, Joe unpacked the five principles of Effectual thinking and challenged participants to apply them through interactive group exercises and reflection:
Joe also encouraged participants to reflect on who they are as entrepreneurs and leaders.
Each profile builds differently, and understanding your type helps you play the right game.
The workshop ended with participants designing their own action plans - a roadmap to apply these principles within their teams and organizations.
If this sounds like a conversation you wish you hadn’t missed, we have great news.
Our next masterclass will be hosted by Richard Parsons, Founding Partner at True Agency, on 19 November, exploring how to balance short-term wins with long-term growth.