The very characteristics that help someone become a successful entrepreneur at the beginning of a business venture may become barriers to taking a company, be it profit or non-profit, to the next level, according to an article by Neerja Raman, an award winning executive in technology research and new business creation and member of The Indus Group, which fosters conscious or social entrepreneurship.

Raman argues that in social entrepreneurship, unlike for-profit entrepreneurship, sustainable growth is part of the mission. This makes it difficult for those with the entrepreneur mindset to simply leave when the scaling stage of development begins. Therefore, entrepreneurs entering this field must be careful of the good traits that can turn bad in the next stage of developing a company.

Persistence is an excellent quality when trying to turn an idea into a start-up, but can easily turn into stubbornness, making it difficult to implement the changes needed for growth. The desire for control is essential when starting, as only the entrepreneur has the whole vision of the project, but one person cannot control everything as a company grows. Finally, loyalty is how a small group manages great things, but as the company grows larger, it is easy to let loyalty cloud judgment, says Raman.