Why negativity can motivate founders: Study links doubts to greater persistence

A new study finds entrepreneurs become more committed to their business ventures when they are told they will fail, increasing their efforts to make those businesses successful. "Most entrepreneurs—people who start their own businesses—actually identify with the business they're running," says Tim Michaelis, an assistant professor of psychology at North Carolina State University and corresponding author of a paper on the work published in the Journal of Business Venturing.