Two kinds of player

There are two types of gamblers: the naive punters and the professional players. The difference between the two is that the naive punter tries to predict a winner and the professional player knows that prediction is impossible.

The naive punter will sometimes back winners, but, this will invariably be more by luck than judgement although they will be convinced that their astute ability to pick a winner gives them a special edge. Usually, their next plunge sees their vision and insight evaporating due to "unforeseen circumstances".

The professional player knows that it is impossible to pick winners, so, will use a strategy that will allow for failure. Downside risks are limited and risk is spread over a number of options. More importantly, the professional player will allow for unpredictable change. The trick is to be in a position to take advantage of sudden and unpredictable events and not be exposed or vulnerable to them.

The professional poker player does not expect to win every hand, winning comes about through a statistical result of making the best of winning opportunities and not losing too much with the failures. The professional poker player does not make the best gains through being lucky with the initial cards that are dealt, but, through taking advantage of favourable situations that develop during the course of the game. It is this "professional gambler" mentality that is needed by both e-business investors entrepreneurs.

Unfortunately for entrepreneurs seeking funding, the ability to rapidly change and adapt is not something that can be described in a business plan. It can only be identified after events have taken place. This is perhaps why the person who asked question 2 at the NETPROZ event had noticed that investors prefer to back serial entrepreneurs rather than placing their trust in first timers.