I read an article today by Mint.com founder, Aaron Patzer, entitled, Predicting entrepreneurial success: Got what it takes?

Here’s a short excerpt,

“If you were trying to find successful entrepreneurs — people who can innovate and commercialize radically new ideas — what would you look for?

An unusually high IQ? Wrong. Cooperation and team building over antagonism? Wrong again. Conscientiousness and planning over spontaneity? Not quite.

It turns out none of these correlate strongly with entrepreneurial ability. What does, instead, are qualities like interest in novelty, being able to think on your feet and, believe it or not, age.

We know all this thanks to data compiled and constantly updated by the Founder Institute. A radically new idea in itself, the Founder Institute is a school/incubator of sorts with chapters in Silicon Valley, San Diego, New York, Boston, Houston, Brussels, Berlin, Paris, and Singapore. Its goal is to train entrepreneurs in the skills they need to start 1,000 companies a year. This is entrepreneurship at a tremendous scale.

Using seasoned entrepreneurs as teachers (disclosure: I guest lecture there) is not a new concept. What’s different about the Founder Institute is the data it collects and funnels back into its admissions process.

As Michael Lewis described in “Moneyball,” statistics, data mining, and predictive analysis — mathematics seeking to remove human bias — often trump the best baseball scouts in finding sporting talent. It turns out the same is true for entrepreneurs.

In a one-hour, comprehensive battery of tests, the Founder Institute measures intelligence, aptitude, and psychology’s big five personality traits. Each student receives a score of 0 to 5 (higher is better), predicting how well he or she will do as an entrepreneur.” read the full article

Next tuesday, 08/03/10, I’m meeting with the team behind the Founder Institute at the Founder Showcase Q3.

***UPDATE: notes from Founder Showcase: http://americas.enterprise-ireland.com/blog/founder-showcase-q3-notes/

The Founder Institute is a four month apprenticeship and training program for both new and seasoned entrepreneurs. The Institute prepares founders to lead the next generation of world-class technology companies across a wide range of industries, from the biotech to the internet. All of the program stakeholders, from the participating founders to the experienced CEO Mentors, share in the upside generated by the companies formed during the program. Participants also enjoy free services from three dozen Institute Partners, fundraising opportunities at fair market value, and a teamwork-oriented environment to build a company. The Institute operates semesters twice a year in Silicon Valley, Singapore, Seattle, Los Angles, San Diego, Denver, Boston, New York, Washington DC, and Paris.

Look for my follow-up posts as I report from the Founder Showcase and report back on the key take-aways from the event.

UPDATE: notes from Founder Showcase: http://americas.enterprise-ireland.com/blog/founder-showcase-q3-notes/