Entrepreneurial Wisdom from the Torah

An Entrepreneur's Origin Story

After great people have become great, we often try to find the seeds of their greatness in the years before. Destiny is a powerful concept, and many of us believe in it. And because we believe in destiny, we look for signs that would have portended the future greatness of our role models.

But if we look at the story of Abraham, who is the archetype of a founder (as he founded the first major monotheistic religion), we will find an origin story that is uniquely modern and a true reflection of our entrepreneurial reality.

Let's take a look at what the Bible tells us about Abraham's origin.

11:26 When Terah had lived 70 years, he begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

11:27 Now this is the line of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begot Lot.

11:28 Haran died in the lifetime of his father Terah, in his native land, Ur of the Chaldeans.

11:29 Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves, the name of Abram's wife being Sarai and that of Nahor's wife Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah.

11:30 Now Sarai was barren, she had no child.

11:31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan; but when they had come as far as Haran, they settled there.

11:32 The days of Terah came to 205 years; and Terah died in Haran.

Seems simple enough. Abraham is born. His brother dies. Abraham marries. His wife can't have kids. His father uproots his family. His father dies. But there is a lot of meaning hidden in these words that are very relevant to our experience as entrepreneurs and the origin stories that drive them.

Let's take a look at each line in more depth.

11:26 When Terah had lived 70 years, he begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

11:27 Now this is the line of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begot Lot.

There is nothing magical or special about Abraham's birth (or Abram's as he was called then) that is spoken of in the Torah. He is not saved like Moses. Nor is his birth foretold like that of Jesus. He is born and there is nothing special about him.

What is unique about Abraham is never spoken of in the Bible. But it is written about in the Talmud. Terah, his father, was a high priest in Nimrod's court. He was an idol worshiper and idol maker. Can you imagine what an education that must have been for a budding monotheist?

One of the most well-known approaches to innovation is to do the opposite of what everyone is doing. If you have a restaurant with many items on the many, create a restaurant that has one. It will stand out and if that one dish is good, it will attract clientele.

The other more important fact, often ignored by budding entrepreneurs is that you have to know what you are disrupting. That is the most important trait of a successful entrepreneur and the trait that the story of Abraham highlights: the key to success is insider knowledge coupled with a fresh perspective.

What was Abraham's fresh perspective? According to the Talmud, one day, Terah left Abraham to mind the store of idols he was selling. Instead of selling idols, Abraham took an ax and destroyed all of them, except for one, the largest idol in the store. Then he stuck the ax into the statue's11:30 Now Sarai was barren, she had no child.

11:31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan; but when they had come as far as Haran, they settled there.