What the VRS measures
The Venture Readiness Scale draws on research differentiating the psychological profiles of career corporate managers from serial entrepreneurs. It separates traits into two categories: Personality Scales, covering how someone is wired, and Skills Scales, covering how they execute. The intended use is to help people identify entrepreneurial dispositions in themselves or their teams, and to show founders where their blind spots sit. This instrument was previously published here under the name "Entrepreneurial Mindset Profile (EMP)". That is a registered trademark of the Leadership Development Institute at Eckerd College, whose instrument is a different, independently validated product measuring 14 traits. The items below are original to Psychometrics Today and always were; only the name was a problem, and it has been changed.
The dimensions it assesses
- Idea Generation: The habit of seeing possibilities where others see settled facts, and of producing several candidate solutions rather than one. (Items 1, 11, 21)
- Execution / Action: Comfort beginning work before the plan is complete. (Item 2)
- Resilience: How quickly momentum returns after a setback, and whether failure is read as information or as verdict. (Items 3, 10, 13, 20, 23)
- Locus of Control: Whether outcomes are attributed to one's own effort or to luck and circumstance. (Items 4, 14, 24)
- Action Orientation: A bias toward moving on incomplete information rather than continuing to analyse. (Items 5, 12, 22)
- Future Focus: Attention directed at where things are going rather than at maintaining what already runs. (Items 6, 16, 26)
- Independence: The desire to work without supervision and to chart one's own course. (Items 7, 17, 27)
- Interpersonal Influence: The ability to bring other people — teams, clients, investors — onto an idea. (Items 8, 18, 28)
- Risk Acceptance: Tolerance for financial, social and career risk. Tolerance, not recklessness: the items ask what someone is willing to accept, not what they enjoy. (Items 9, 15, 19, 25)
What to do with your result
- High Nonconformity & Low Structure: If you score high here, you will struggle in Fortune 500 roles. You must either start your own venture or seek out early-stage startups as an early employee.
- High Passion but Low Action Orientation: You are an "ideas person" suffering from analysis paralysis. You must partner with an operator (a Chief Operating Officer type) who will force you to execute your ideas.
- The Risk Reality: If Risk Acceptance is low, avoid bootstrapping a risky startup. Opt for acquiring an existing, profitable business (search fund) or franchising, which offers entrepreneurship with a safety net.
Common questions about the VRS
- What does the VRS measure?
- Measurement of the cognitive and behavioral traits distinguishing corporate managers from successful entrepreneurs.
- Can the VRS diagnose me?
- No. Entrepreneurial Mindset (VRS) is a screening questionnaire, not a diagnostic tool. It can flag that something may need a closer look. It cannot tell you what is causing it. It describes tendencies rather than diagnosing anything, and no result here is a condition or something to fix.
- How long does the VRS take?
- 28 questions, which most people finish in 10 – 15 minutes. There is no time limit, and answering honestly matters more than answering quickly. The results page checks for patterns suggesting the questions were rushed.
- Is this VRS test really free?
- Yes. No account, no email address, no payment. Psychometrics Today is funded by donations rather than advertising, which is also what allows us to publish instruments whose authors permit free but non-commercial use.
- Are my answers stored or shared?
- No. Your answers are scored inside your browser and never sent to us. There is no database of responses, because we never receive any. Closing the tab erases them, which is why results cannot be recovered afterwards.
- How often should I retake the VRS?
- Traits and preferences move slowly, so retaking this every few months is more informative than retaking it often. Larger shifts usually follow a genuine change in circumstances.
- Who created the VRS, and is this the real version?
- It was published by Psychometrics Today (original items). Original items based on Eckhardt & Shane opportunity-recognition theory. The items here are the published ones rather than a paraphrase, and the scoring follows the original rules. Both are documented on this page so they can be checked.
- How accurate is the VRS?
- Screening questionnaires are good at flagging that something merits attention and poor at establishing what it is. This one is sensitive to how you feel on the day you take it, and many instruments were validated on narrow populations whose cut-offs may not transfer cleanly to everyone. The references at the foot of this page are the primary sources.
Sources
Items written by the Psychometrics Today Team, based on published theory. The theory is credited below.
- Eckhardt, J. T., & Shane, S. A. (2003). Opportunities and entrepreneurship. Journal of Management, 29(3), 333-349.
- Davis, M. H., Hall, J. A., & Mayer, P. S. (2016). Developing a new measure of entrepreneurial mindset: Reliability, validity, and implications for practitioners. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 68(1), 21-48.
Licensing
Public domain. Original items based on Eckhardt & Shane opportunity-recognition theory.