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- Written By: Damir Wallener
- Edited By: L. S. Wynn
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2003-2012 Conjecture Corporation
An entrepreneur is an individual who accepts financial risks and undertakes new financial ventures. The word derives from the French "entre" (to enter) and "prendre" (to take), and in a general sense applies to any person starting a new project or trying a new opportunity.
Many societies place great value on the entrepreneur. To encourage their activity, they may be offered access to inexpensive capital, tax exemptions and management advice. An entrepreneur has the greatest chance of success by focusing on a market niche either too small or too new to have been noticed by established businesses. To help new technologies come to market, many universities establish business incubators for entrepreneurs hoping to turn leading edge research into marketable products.
Characteristics of an entrepreneur include spontaneous creativity, the ability and willingness to make decisions in the absence of solid data, and a generally risk-taking personality. An entrepreneur may be driven by a need to create something new or build something tangible. In the Austrian school of Economics, entrepreneurs are described as being engaged in the creative destruction of existing products and services. As new enterprises have low success rates, an entrepreneur must also have considerable persistence.
Entrepreneurs are generally highly independent, which can cause problems when their ventures succeed. In a small company the entrepreneur is able to personally manage most aspects of the business, but this is not possible once the company has grown beyond a certain size. Management conflicts often arise when the entrepreneur does not recognize that running a large stable company is different from running a small growing company. The problem is often resolved by the entrepreneur either leaving to start a new venture, or being forced out by shareholders. At Apple Computer, for example, one founder, Steve Wozniak, left to pursue other interests, while the other, Steve Jobs was ultimately fired and replaced with a CEO from a much larger company. Note that many years later, Jobs returned to the helm.
An intrapreneur is an individual who acts like an entrepreneur but from inside the confines of a large organization or corportation.
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Discuss this Article
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anon211307
Post 55 |
an entrepreneur is a person who isn't afraid to take risks, knowing he might fail, but also knowing he might make the next microsoft. |
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anon191689
Post 54 |
I have a different view about enterpreneurship this gives me a challenge to understand the thing I am doing now. Is it the same as an entrepreneur or what? |
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anon146604
Post 47 |
Entrepreneurship, in my own understanding, is the ability of a person or group of person taking the risk to implement an idea, herein referred to as market niche, to provide service or products of any kind. This could be a new venture or an existing venture. The process of entrepreneurship involves not only risk taking but also requires leadership traits, which will be a combination of strategies and character as an entrepreneur. Taking decisive strategies and executive them will separate a successful entrepreneur from an unsuccessful one, it is here that the utilization of character will be most required, the ability to persevere in the renewal and implementation of new and better strategies to turn a bad step to a great movement. |
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anon140609
Post 45 |
Entrepreneurship is the way of creativity and innovation. |
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anon128126
Post 44 |
What is the International Society of Entrepreneurs' definition? |
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anon92179
Post 39 |
Entre from the French word "between" as in the organizer between capital and labour or between supplier and customer. |
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anon50977
Post 31 |
Is this plagiarism if i used it (copy/paste) for, let's say, coursework.
Editor's reply: Anytime you use sources that you copy, whether from wiseGEEK or not, that you do not attribute, you are committing plagiarism. Attribution means you must state in your work where you got the information or quote. This holds true for any material you use. If the words aren't yours, you must cite whose words they are.
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anon45568
Post 29 |
what are the roles and responsibilities of an entrepreneur? |
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anon45145
Post 26 |
what is entrepreneurship? |
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anon43611
Post 22 |
first i didn't know what entrepreneurship was, but i know it is all about risk bearing. creativity involved in it. It prepares you to be a better entrepreneur of tomorrow. |
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anon42680
Post 21 |
oh,okay now i know the meaning of entrepreneur! it is an individual who accepts financial risks and undertakes new financial ventures. |
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anon42297
Post 19 |
my friend is a very successful entrepreneur. perhaps you have heard of him. zachary abraham. |
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argon
Post 13 |
Brilliant article about the entrepreneur. I am an entrepreneur based in Manila (although I am english) and about 30% of all employment in the country is due to entrepreneurs. Without the small business man and entrepreneurs the economy would be severely affected worldwide and every time we do business we contribute to society. I recommend everyone to take the step to starting their own small business and a road to fun, freedom and sometimes crazy panic!
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anon21764
Post 12 |
Its been almost 2 months since I took my first step in my dream to become a successful entrepreneur. I knew it was coming, I knew I had to take the step at some time, but it just got catalyzed thanks to the same dream shared by two friends of mine from college. Everything is steady now, and I will keep everyone updated about our venture from time to time. This is my theory for future of entrepreneurship in India. ( Yes, now I have changed my specialization from writing on ‘philisophy’ to ‘entrepreneurship’ . Or actually , now its both ! ) I think with increase in job opportunities in India, more and more people will be inclined to take the path of becoming an entrepreneur .Kind of paradox , isn’t it ? Let me explain … First of All, the main ingredient for becoming an entrepreneur is your risk-taking ability. It all comes down to how ready are you to take a risk - calculated risk or not.Your every step and decision in your entrepreneurial life will be associated with risk, which will have an impact not only on yourself, but many other people that are associated with your venture. So, my theory is , when people have more job opportunities, and when they see that situation is not going to be that bad in future , in terms of getting a job, people ( I mean students and population under 30 ) will be ready to take risk and opt for becoming an entrepreneur. I mean at least those who wanted to do this from a long time, or who wanted to take a bit of risk, might start doing it now. Because they know that even if the venture fails or if they don’t succeed, they still have the safer option of doing a job in future. When people don’t have jobs , they start feeling insecure. There is tremendous pressure , specially on students from lower and upper middle-class families, to get a job and sustain the family.Hence people stop taking risks. They start looking for alternatives, like doing post-graduation , just so that they can get a job after doing post-grad. They feel more pressurized to take up a job. The other day , I met one senior from our college, who is about to start his MBA this June 2007 .After talking to him for sometime, he expressed his ambition to start a venture, but as he got into a good college , he postponed his step , and might do it after doing MBA. Recently , more and more IIM-A ad IIM-B students are opting for starting their own venture. Many of the students are not even sitting for campus placements. They know that this is the time to take the step. They are sure that even if it doesn’t work, the job situation in India is getting better, and will improve for some years down the lane. Everyone have their own reasons to take the step. Some have a burning passion to do it, some want to just try it , and others do it for necessity. But I feel this is the right time to take the step. So why not take the risk, won’t it be worth trying ? Anyways, this is my theory, and criticism is always welcome. More blogs on entrepreneurship coming soon ! BY manik Prasher |
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anon18603
Post 11 |
is an entrepreneur is a death wish in india? |
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anon14542
Post 9 |
ok... you're right about the mother theresa thing... but there is a huge difference between personal gain for ego/pride/tangible things, and personal gain for internal/spiritual growth or a higher purpose. |
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anon10328
Post 8 |
Is entrepreneurship in india a death wish ???? |
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anon5211
Post 7 |
Mother Theresa didn't do what she did for money, she did it partly because she thought she would get some sort of reward in the after life for being a good person. Everyone does what they do for selfish reasons and she was no different, whether its for money, a pat on the back or just to feel good about yourself. |
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anon1708
Post 2 |
This article seems to state that being an entrepreneur is all about receiving some sort of financial gain.
What about the likes of Mother Theresa? Is she considered to be an entrepreneur. I do think so and she did it for the compassion and commitment she holds not for any monetary reward. |
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anon288
Post 1 |
what is a entrepreneurship |
