To be truly great, entrepreneurs need to be a little...out there. After all, fearless creativity, maverick thinking and risk taking seldom show up in the middle of the bell curve. As venture capitalists, we see our fair share of aspiring and veteran entrepreneurs, and we have often wondered whether the man or woman standing before us was brilliant, deluded, or a combination of the two. The goal is to find the optimal balance between your strengths and weaknesses.

Perhaps one of the most important and delicate balances that great entrepreneurs must finesse is the one between risk taking and vulnerability. If a risk taker is generally perceived as bold, driven and extroverted, a vulnerable person is usually seen as gentle, weak and introverted. Yet here’s the paradox: Vulnerability is among the defining characteristics of the greatest entrepreneurs I know. Inside these people lies a highly nuanced vulnerability that buttresses their externally directed strength.

This nuance has to do with the vital difference between what I call passive and active vulnerability. Passive vulnerability refers to the condition of being vulnerable without choosing to be. Active vulnerability is about engaging in a considered risk while hoping that the payoff, financial or otherwise, will ultimately be worth it. Active vulnerability is in essence proactive and informed risk-taking. Passive vulnerability describes reactive and submissive exposure.

But why would anyone choose to be vulnerable? The willingness to be vulnerable isn’t driven by the desire for exposure, but by the possibility of what that exposure might lead to—be it a more meaningful role, the possibility to effect change or greater financial gain.

A great entrepreneur is one who can continue in the face of failure without falling prey to passive vulnerability. There are many would-be entrepreneurs who, having failed, have never been able to get going again. What was once active vulnerability turns passive. Others surf the line between resilience and vulnerability successfully, understanding that repeated failure is usually necessary in order to achieve success. Some even thrive as much on failure (and the learning and strength that can come from it) as on success.

Embracing vulnerability and its rewards—whether lessons from failed efforts or life-changing success—that’s the stuff of great entrepreneurs.

Anthony “Tony” Tjan is chief executive, managing partner and founder of Cue Ball, a venture and early growth equity firm investing in the information media and consumer sectors.