There’s an entrepreneur I know in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia’s capital, whom I’ll
call Nergui. After starting his first mining company just over 15 years ago, he
has launched and remains the majority owner of 25 different businesses
including ventures in mining, agriculture, media, education, and hospitality.
That’s a rate of almost two new businesses a year. He’s not just a serial
entrepreneur; he’s a parallel entrepreneur. And
Nergui is hardly alone – today Ulaanbaatar is teeming with entrepreneurs like
him who are involved in three, four, or more ventures at once.

What’s behind Mongolia’s brand of entrepreneurship? Partly, it’s the simple
economics of growth. Even though Mongolia’s infrastructure remains poor and
basic services limited, the country is emerging as one of the top growth
stories of the decade, largely due to its massive, untapped mining wealth. Most
of these resources, including rich deposits of copper, coal, gold, iron ore,
silver, uranium, and molybdenum, remain in the ground, but some estimate the
total worth to be close to $2 trillion. For an economy that generates about $8
billion in GDP and a population that stands at roughly 2.8 million people, this
latent subterranean wealth is formidable, and foreign investors are falling
over themselves to get a piece of the action.

A high-growth environment paired with a relatively low level of economic
development creates countless opportunities for Mongolians with the hustle and
connections to launch new businesses. Since few products are manufactured in
Mongolia, many local entrepreneurs get their start in trading, from clothes and
electronics to bigger ticket items, like construction and mining equipment.
With some cash in hand they often parlay their trading success into even more
lucrative opportunities, such as real estate or mining. A foothold established
in one or two businesses makes launching the next one, two, or five that much
easier by leveraging their existing customer/supplier networks and revenue
base. Step by step these parallel entrepreneurs are in the process of furiously
building the foundations for a transformed Mongolian economy.

Nergui’s strategy presents a stark contrast to entrepreneurs on this side of
the globe where the standard practice is to pick one venture at a time and
pursue it with laser focus. It’s certainly true that successful new businesses
in Western markets often require a higher level of innovation than those in
Mongolia, so it’s understandable that entrepreneurs here typically don’t try to
balance three or four new businesses at one time. But closing the door on new
opportunities just because one path has already been selected could limit an
entrepreneur’s potential in the end. Maybe the next pivot in one business could
be inspired by developments in a second concurrent venture. Or, if one hits a
dead end, another is already underway to pick up the slack.

Ultimately there are only so many hours in a day and an entrepreneur can
delegate and outsource only so much when building a new business. But parallel
venturers from Mongolia should inspire entrepreneurs in the West not to narrow
their sights too soon on one prized result. Who knows where the next idea or
new direction might come from? I’m sure Nergui might have a few suggestions.

http://www.forbes.com