The Need for Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which is a French word meaning one
who undertakes an endeavor. Entrepreneurs assemble resources including innovations, finance
and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods. The most
obvious form of entrepreneurship is that of starting new businesses; however, in recent years,
the term has been extended to include social and political forms of entrepreneurial activity.
The concept of entrepreneurship has a wide range of meanings. On the one extreme
an entrepreneur is a person of very high aptitude who pioneers change, possessing
characteristics found in only a very small fraction of the population.
According to A.H. Cole, Entrepreneurship is the purposeful activity of an individual or group
of associated individuals, undertaken to initiate, maintain or aggrandize profit by production or
distribution of economic goods or services.
Entrepreneurship promotes small business in the society. Government has accepted the fact
that small firms have a crucial role to play in the economic development of the country. Most
economists today agree that entrepreneurship is a necessary ingredient for stimulating economic
growth and employment opportunities in all societies. Small businesses are an essential part of
our future economic prosperity because of the following reasons;
Employment generation: entrepreneurial development is looked at as a vehicle for
employment generation through promotion of small business. India, being far more
developed and forward looking country than some of the third world countries, can provide
lead to entrepreneurial development activities. However, India can benefit from the well-
documented success experiences of developed countries like USA, Japan and UK in the field
of employment generation and small business promotion. Steady growth in consumer
spending, expanding retail sales, a strong housing market, continued expansion of the service
sector, low rates of inflation and of labor cost increases and failing interest rates contributed
to a healthy environment for small business. In India, the government policies, political and
economic environment greatly encourage the establishment of new and small enterprises.
Self- employment and small scale industry schemes have been further liberalized during the
last decade.
Small business dynamism: great dynamism is one of the qualities of the small and medium
enterprises. This quality of dynamism originates in the inherent nature of the small business.
The structure of small and medium enterprises is less complex than that of large enterprises
and therefore facilitates quicker and smoother communication and decision- making. This
allows for the greater flexibility and mobility of small business management. Also, small
enterprises, more often make it possible for owners, who have a stronger entrepreneurial
spirit than employed mangers, to undertake risk and challenges.
Balanced economic development: small business promotion needs relatively low
investment and therefore can be easily undertaken in rural and semi-urban areas. This in turn
creates additional employment in these areas and prevents migration of people from rural to
urban areas. Since majority of the people are living in the rural areas, therefore, more of our
development efforts should be directed towards this sector. Small enterprises use local
resources and are best suited to rural and underdeveloped sector. This in turn will also lead to
dispersal of industries, reduction in concentration of economic power and balanced regional
development.
Innovations in enterprises: business enterprises need to be innovative for survival and
better performance. It is believed that smaller firms have a relatively higher necessity and
capability to innovate. The smaller firms do not face the constraints imposed by large
investment in existing technology. Thus they are both free and compelled to innovate.
Entrepreneurship development is accelerating the pace of small firms growth in India. An
increased number of small firms are expected to result in more innovations and make the
Indian industry compete in the international market.

entrepreneur.
Noun
1. A person who organizes and operates a business venture and
assumes much of the associated risk.
2. A person who organizes a risky activity of any kind and acts
substantially in the manner of a business entrepreneur.
Related terms
efinition and terminology
An entrepreneur is someone who attempts to organize resources in new
and more valuable ways and accepts full responsibility for the outcome.
Etymology
The word "entrepreneur" is a loanword from French. In French the verb
"entreprendre" means "to undertake", with "entre" coming from the
Latin word meaning "between", and "prendre" meaning "to take". In
French a person who performs a verb, has the ending of the verb
changed to "eur", comparable to the "er" ending in English.
Enterprise is similar to and has roots in, the French word "entrepris",
which is the past participle of "entreprendre". Entrepreneuse is simply
the French feminine counterpart of "entrepreneur".
According to Miller, it is one who is able to begin, sustain, and when
necessary, effectively and efficiently dissolve a business entity.
Entrepreneur as a leader

Characteristics of an entrepreneur
There is no such thing as a typical entrepreneur.
Some entrepreneurs are quiet and hard-working, while others are more outgoing and
flamboyant. The key to being a successful entrepreneur lies in the ability to take an idea
and then, through the process of innovation, develop it in such a way that it becomes a
marketable product or service. Research indicates that there are a number of
characteristics that are quite likely to be present in high-achieving entrepreneurs:
The ability to learn from others entrepreneurs tend to be good at networking. They benefit
from being members of organisation like the IET where they can learn best practice ideas from
others.
Self confidence a belief in their own abilities and ideas.
Being innovative/inventive being able to generate ideas, either for new products/services or
new ways of applying them.
Self motivation and determination the drive to keep going and see things through.
Showing initiative it is necessary to have not only the ideas for the business, but also the
detailed plans to achieve objectives (both thinking and doing).
Analytical abilities capable of researching and evaluating each aspect of the business, from
development, through finance, production, to marketing and sales.
The ability to make decisions and to take (considered) risks.
A focus on results that ensures products are sold for a profit.

Theyre goal-orientated
Entrepreneurs are all about setting goals and putting their all into achieving
them; theyre determined to make their business succeed and will remove any
encumbrances that may stand in their way. They also tend to be strategic in their
game plans and always have a clear idea in mind of exactly what they want to
achieve and how they plan to achieve it.
Theyre committed to their business
Entrepreneurs are not easily defeated; they view failure as an opportunity for
future success, and if they dont succeed the first time, theyll stay committed to
their business and will continue to try and try again until it does succeed. A true
entrepreneur doesnt take no for an answer.
Theyre hands-on
Entrepreneurs are inherently proactive, and know that if something really needs
to get done, they should do it themselves. Theyre doers, not thinkers, and tend
to have very exacting standards. They view their business as an extension of
themselves and like to be integral in its day-to-day operationseven when they
dont have to be.
They thrive on uncertainty
Not only do they thrive on itthey also remain calm throughout it. Sometimes
things go wrong in business, but when youre at the helm of a company and
making all the decisions, its essential to keep your cool in any given situation.
True entrepreneurs know this and secretly flourish and grow in the wake of any
challenges.
They continuously look for opportunities to improve
Entrepreneurs realize that every event or situation is a business opportunity, and
theyre constantly generating new and innovative ideas. They have the ability to
look at everything around them and focus it toward their goals in an effort to
improve their business.
Theyre willing to take risks
A true entrepreneur doesnt ask questions about whether or not theyll succeed
they truly believe they will. They exude this confidence in all aspects of life, and
as a bi-product, theyre never afraid to take risks due to their unblinding faith that
ultimately they will triumph.
Theyre willing to listen and learn
The most important part of learning is listeningand a good entrepreneur will do
this in abundance.
They have great people skills
Entrepreneurs have strong communication skills, and its this strength that
enables them to effectively sell their product or service to clients and customers.
Theyre also natural leaders with the ability to motivate, inspire and influence
those around them.
Theyre inherently creative
This is one trait that, due to their very nature, entrepreneurial business people
have by the bucket load. Theyre able to not only come up with ingenious ideas,
but also turn those ideas into profits.
Theyre passionate and always full of positivity


Invention
Definition: An object, process or technique that displays an element of
novelty. In certain circumstances, legal protection may be granted to an
invention by way of a patent.
Innovative new products are the fuel for the most powerful growth engine you can connect to. You
can grow without new products--AT&T sold essentially the same telephones for decades while
becoming the world's largest telecommunications concern--but most small companies will find it
difficult to grow at all, much less rapidly, without a constant stream of new products that meet
customer needs.
If you decide to develop new products as part of your growth plan, you're in good company. Small
companies contribute at least half of the major industrial innovations occurring in the United States,
according to the SBA. At the same time, approximately one-third of all new products are
unsuccessful, and in some industries, the percentage of failures is much higher. The way to increase
your chances of coming up with good ideas is to follow the tested track to new product development
success.
New product development can be described as a five-stage process, beginning with generating
ideas and progressing to marketing completed products. In between are processes where you
evaluate and screen product ideas, take steps to protect your ideas, and finalize design in an R&D
stage. Following are details on each stage:
1. Generating ideas. This stage consists of two parts: creating an idea and developing it for
commercial sale. There are many good techniques for idea creation, including brainstorming,
random association and even daydreaming. You may want to generate a long list of ideas and then
whittle them down to a very few that appear to have commercial appeal.
2. Evaluating and screening product ideas. Everybody likes their own ideas, but that doesn't
mean others will. When you're evaluating ideas for their potential, it's important to get objective
opinions. For help with technical issues, many companies take their ideas to testing laboratories,
engineering consultants, product development firms, and university and college technical testing
services. When it comes to evaluating an idea's commercial potential, many entrepreneurs use the
Preliminary Innovation Evaluation System (PIES) technique. This is a formal methodology for
assessing the commercial potential of inventions and innovations.
3. Protecting your ideas. If you think you've come up with a valuable idea for a new product, you
should take steps to protect it. Most people who want to protect ideas think first of patents. There are
good reasons for this. For one thing, you will find it difficult to license your idea to other companies,
should you wish to do so, without patent protection. However, getting a patent is a lengthy,
complicated process, and one you shouldn't embark on without professional help; this makes the
process expensive. If you wish to pursue a patent for your ideas, contact a registered patent attorney
or patent agent.
Many firms choose to protect ideas using trade secrecy. This is simply a matter of keeping
knowledge of your ideas, designs, processes, techniques or any other unique component of your
creation limited to yourself or a small group of people. Most trade secrets are in the areas of
chemical formulas, factory equipment, and machines and manufacturing processes. The formula for
Coca-Cola is one of the best-recognized and most successful trade secrets.
4. Research and development (R&D). Both tasks are necessary for refining most designs for new
products and services. If you're already the owner of a growing company, you're in a good position
when it comes to this stage--most independent inventors don't have the resources to pay for this
costly and often protracted stage of product introduction. But that's not to say if you don't have a
business, you can't find the resources to undertake this task. There are plenty of ways to get the job
done cheaply.
R&D consists of producing prototypes, testing them for usability and other features, and refining the
design until you wind up with something you think you can make and sell for a profit. This may
involve test-marketing, beta testing, analysis of marketing plans and sales projections, cost studies
and more. As the last step before you commit to rolling your product out, R&D is perhaps the most
important step of all.
5. Promoting and marketing your product. Now that you have a ready-for-sale product, it's time to
promote, market and distribute it. Many of the rules that apply to existing products also apply to
promoting, marketing and distributing new products. However, new products have some additional
wrinkles. For instance, your promotion will probably consist of a larger amount of customer
education, since you will be offering them something they have never seen before. Your marketing
may have to be broader than the niche efforts you've used in the past because, odds are, you'll be a
little unsure about the actual market out there. Finally, you may need to test some completely new
distribution channels until you find the right place to sell your produc
INVENTION VS. INNOVATION: THE DIFFERENCE
In its purest sense, invention can be defined as the creation of a product or introduction of a process for
the first time. Innovation, on the other hand, occurs if someone improves on or makes a significant
contribution to an existing product, process or service.
Consider the microprocessor. Someone invented the microprocessor. But by itself, the microprocessor
was nothing more than another piece on the circuit board. Its what was done with that piece the
hundreds of thousands of products, processes and services that evolved from the invention of the
microprocessor that required innovation.
STEVE JOBS: THE POSTER BOY OF INNOVATION
If ever there were a poster child for innovation it would be former Apple CEO Steve Jobs. And when
people talk about innovation, Jobs iPod is cited as an example of innovation at its best.

But lets take a step back for a minute. The iPod wasnt the first portable music device (Sony popularized
the music anywhere, anytime concept 22 years earlier with the Walkman); the iPod wasnt the first
device that put hundreds of songs in your pocket (dozens of manufacturers had MP3 devices on the
market when the iPod was released in 2001); and Apple was actually late to the party when it came to
providing an online music-sharing platform. (Napster, Grokster and Kazaa all preceded iTunes.)
So, given those sobering facts, is the iPods distinction as a defining example of innovation warranted?
Absolutely.
What made the iPod and the music ecosystem it engendered innovative wasnt that it was
the firstportable music device. It wasnt that it was the first MP3 player. And it wasnt that it was
the firstcompany to make thousands of songs immediately available to millions of users. What made
Apple innovative was that it combined all of these elements design, ergonomics and ease of use in
a single device, and then tied it directly into a platform that effortlessly kept that device updated with
music.
Apple invented nothing. Its innovation was creating an easy-to-use ecosystem that unified music
discovery, delivery and device. And, in the process, they revolutionized the music industry.
IBM: INNOVATIONS UGLY STEPCHILD
Admittedly, when it comes to corporate culture, Apple and IBM are worlds apart. But Apple andIBM arent
really as different as innovations poster boy would have had us believe.
Truth is if it hadnt been for one of IBMs greatest innovations the personal computer there would
have been no Apple. Jobs owes a lot to the introduction of the PC. And IBM was the company behind it.
Ironically, the IBM PC didnt contain any new inventions per se (see iPod example above). Under
pressure to complete the project in less than 18 months, the team actually was under explicit
instructions not to invent anything new. The goal of the first PC, code-named Project Chess, was to take
off-the-shelf components and bring them together in a way that was user friendly, inexpensive, and
powerful.
And while the worlds first PC was an innovative product in the aggregate, the device they created a
portable device that put powerful computing in the hands of the people was no less impactful than
Henry Fords Model T, which reinvented the automobile industry by putting affordable transportation in the
hands of the masses.
INNOVATION ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH
Given the choice to invent or innovate, most entrepreneurs would take the latter. Lets face it, innovation
is just sexier. Perhaps there are a few engineers at M.I.T. who can name the members of Project Chess.
Virtually everyone on the planet knows who Steve Jobs is.
But innovation alone isnt enough. Too often, companies focus on a technology instead of the customers
problem. But in order to truly turn a great idea into a world-changing innovation, other factors must be
taken into account.
According to Venkatakrishnan Balasubramanian, a research analyst with Infosys Labs, the key to
ensuring that innovation is successful is aligning your idea with the strategic objectives and business
models of your organization.
In a recent article that appeared in Innovation Management, he offered five considerations:
1. Competitive advantage: Your innovation should provide a unique competitive position for the
enterprise in the marketplace;
2. Business alignment: The differentiating factors of your innovation should be conceptualized around
the key strategic focus of the enterprise and its goals;
3. Customers: Knowing the customers who will benefit from your innovation is paramount;
4. Execution: Identifying resources, processes, risks, partners and suppliers and the ecosystem in the
market for succeeding in the innovation is equally important;
5. Business value: Assessing the value (monetary, market size, etc.) of the innovation and how the idea
will bring that value into the organization is a critical underlying factor in selecting which idea to pursue.
Said another way, smart innovators frame their ideas to stress the ways in which a new concept is
compatible with the existing market landscape, and their companys place in that marketplace.
This adherence to the status quo may sound completely antithetical to the concept of innovation. But an
idea that requires too much change in an organization, or too much disruption to the marketplace, may
never see the light of day.
A FINAL THOUGHT
While they tend to be lumped together, invention and innovation are not the same thing. There are
distinctions between them, and those distinctions are important.
So how do you know if you are inventing or innovating? Consider this analogy:
If invention is a pebble tossed in the pond, innovation is the rippling effect that pebble causes. Someone
has to toss the pebble. Thats the inventor. Someone has to recognize the ripple will eventually become a
wave. Thats the entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurs dont stop at the waters edge. They watch the ripples and spot the next big wavebefore it
happens. And its the act of anticipating and riding that next big wave that drives the innovative nature in
every entrepreneur.
Invention is the "creation of a product or introduction of a process for the first time."
Thomas Edison was an inventor.
Innovation happens when someone "improves on or makes a significant contribution" to
something that has already been invented. Steve Jobs was an innovator.


Theres a lot of confusion surrounding creativity and innovation. Creative types, in
particular, claim that creativity and innovation cant be measured. Performance, however,
demands measurement so you can identify what success looks like. In a world that changes
every two seconds, its imperative that companies figure out the difference between
creativity and innovation.
You better believe theyre different.
Creativity vs. Innovation
The main difference between creativity and innovation is the focus. Creativity is
about unleashing the potential of the mind to conceive new ideas. Those concepts could
manifest themselves in any number of ways, but most often, they become something we
can see, hear, smell, touch, or taste. However, creative ideas can also be thought
experiments within one persons mind.
Creativity is subjective, making it hard to measure, as our creative friends assert.
Innovation, on the other hand, is completely measurable. Innovation is about introducing
change into relatively stable systems. Its also concerned with the work required to make an
idea viable. By identifying an unrecognized and unmet need, an organization can use
innovation to apply its creative resources to design an appropriate solution and reap a
return on its investment.
Organizations often chase creativity, but what they really need to pursue is innovation.
Theodore Levitt puts it best: What is often lacking is not creativity in the idea-creating
sense but innovation in the action-producing sense, i.e. putting ideas to work.
Managing Innovation
Because creativity and innovation are often confused, its long been assumed that you
cannot force innovation within an organization. Its either there, or it isnt. The introduction of
a common language for innovation design thinking enables organizations to better
measure milestones in their innovative efforts.
In order to employ design thinking, its necessary to understand it as a system of
overlapping spaces, rather than a set of process steps to move through. Those spaces
are: inspiration, during which the problem that motivates solution-finding is
identified; ideation, the process of generating and developing ideas;
and implementation, the activities that enable a creative idea to move from the drawing
board to the marketplace. Any design thinking-based project may loop back to an earlier
space more than once as a team explores, develops, and implements its idea.
Design thinking provides a consistent approach to defining challenges. It helps
organizations identify problems before they even begin the brainstorming sessions most
associated with creativity. Now, organizations can actually see what they were missing
when previous ideas didnt reach market sustainability.
Using design thinking, organizations can capitalize on creativity by paying attention to the
life of the idea after its initial development. To be of value, applied creativity must always
lead to innovation linking a great idea with an actual customer need (or, better yet, the
needs of a whole market!). The use of design thinking in this manner also demands the
guidance of engaged leadership.
Leaders are critical to the success of any groups long-term innovation strategy. Its their job
to ensure that innovation is consistently pursued and their employees dont settle into
business as usual. They set the tone for what is, and is not, possible in the business
through their attention and action.
Companies to Model
Organizations serious about fostering innovation have to wrestle with two main issues: risk-
taking and failure aversion. All innovation involves risk, and all risks include the possibility of
failure. Failure should never be seen as a black mark; it is a learning experience. Leaders
and their organizations cannot be afraid of failure or they will never incorporate the
innovation they need to truly meet customers needs. Design thinking offers a path to risk-
taking thats manageable, repeatable, and driven toward maximizing the effectiveness of
the new idea.
Of course, the very term innovation connotes something new and different. Still, paying
attention to companies that are consistently innovative in their industries is always a good
practice. Consider these companies that use the principles of design thinking to achieve
their strategic goals:
Proctor & Gamble embraced innovation under former CEO A.G. Lafley. During his
tenure, P&Gs value increased by more than $100 billion. In 2000, it had 10 billion-dollar
consumer brands; today, it has 22.
Kaiser Permanente is the largest not-for-profit health provider in the USA. Kaisers
National Facilities Services group has, for over five years, been working on the Total
Health Environment, a program applying design thinking to every aspect of Kaisers
operations, from medical records to color palettes. The results speak for themselves:
improved patient health, satisfaction, soundness of sleep, speed of healing, and cost
control.
Square is particularly associated with innovation since its plugin device helps millions of
mobile vendors and small business owners. No longer are they confined to cash
payments or expensive credit card machines. Square noticed that the economy was
quickly becoming paperless and provided customers a way to keep up.
Creativity is important in todays business world, but its really only the beginning.
Organizations need to foster creativity. Driving business results by running ideas through an
innovation process puts those ideas to work for companies and their customers.
Creativity is the price of admission, but its innovation that pays the bills.
Andrew (Drew) C. Marshall is the Principal of Primed Associates, an innovation
consultancy. He lives in central New Jersey and works with clients across the U.S. and
around the world. He is a co-host of weekly innovation-focused Twitter chat, #innochat;
founder, host, and producer of Ignite Princeton; and a contributor to the Innovation
Excellence blog. He is also providing support for the implementation of the Design Thinking
for Scholars model with the Network of Leadership Scholars (a network within the Academy
of Management).

The Four Forces of Entrepreneurial
Opportunities
Where should one look for promising business ideas? Michael Porter famously argued
that industries sustain different levels of profitability for firms depending on the
supplier power, barriers to entry, buyer power, and threat of substitute
1
. This approach
has been criticized, however, on the basis that firms are generally too inert to be able to
establish their strategies purely based on the profitability of a particular industry. Such
criticism is far less true for entrepreneurs, who generally have considerable flexibility
at least at first about the general area in which they look for business ideas. Porters
Four Forces are not quite appropriate for new ventures, since entrepreneurs generally
start with a very ill-defined idea of their eventual business model and of the relative
power of their eventual suppliers, buyers, or competitors.
What, then, are the forces generating entrepreneurial opportunities? This article
proposes a theoretical model explaining the variation in entrepreneurial opportunities
across industries. A subsequent article will show how this model can be used to predict
the emergence of new business opportunities.
1. Technological Evolution
A number of researchers have argued that the level of technological maturity greatly
impacts the number of entrepreneurial opportunities. For many years, MIT Sloan
Professor Jim Utterback has shown that young industries, in which needs are not well-
defined, present many more opportunities than more established markets
2
. Once a
dominant product design appears in a market, incumbents often develop economies of
scale, and improve their processes in a way that creates large entry barriers for potential
newcomers. For instance, the car industry presented major entrepreneurial
opportunities at the end of the 19
th
century and at the beginning of the 20
th
century.
However, by the middle of the century, in most advanced economies, the bracket of
entrepreneurial opportunities in the car industry seems to have closed: not only did the
number of entrepreneurial ventures decrease dramatically, but many existing
companies even went bankrupt. Other researchers have shown that technological areas
present more opportunities when they include a well-respected organization, but that
this advantage decreases as the level of competition grows
3
. For instance, the fact that
IBM entered the PC market increased the credibility of the technology and consequently
also increased the amount of entrepreneurial opportunities for potential hardware and
software developers.
2. Organizational Environment
A quite distinct stream of literature has shown that the characteristics of the population
of existing organizations in an industry impacts entry opportunities. A central theme in
this literature is that the number of opportunities in a particular industry depends on
how crowded the industry already is. Being the very first to offer a product (or service)
might be risky because consumers and investors might not yet perceive the need for
such product. On the other hand, a crowded market generally presents fewer
opportunities. In general, new business opportunities depend on the presence of
overlapping suppliers (competitors) and the presence of complementary organizations.
For instance, new daycare centers tend to be more successful when they complement
existing centers covering a different age range
4
. Similarly, the local development of an
industry can be an important source of entrepreneurial opportunities because it
facilitates the acquisition of tacit knowledge, relevant social relationships, and
opportunities to build self-confidence
5
.
3. Demand Characteristics
One core insight of the literature focusing on demand in general and fashions in
particular is that it generally involves two opposite forces: one pushing toward
conformity and the other toward distinction
6
. Demand is therefore not only unstable,
but also never quite homogeneous: customer preferences are generally diverse enough
that parts of the market are always underserved. This is especially the case when the
supply is composed of a few large generalists providing highly standardized products or
services
7
. Tastes also evolve over time in a predictable manner
8
. For instance, customers
might consider that technical performance is most important for some time, and
suddenly switch their value ordering (for instance toward design or cost rather than
performance) once they are technologically satisfied
9
.
4. Institutional Context
Entrepreneurial opportunities also depend on the institutional context. For instance,
researchers have documented that changes in policy regime and changes in the law can
have a dramatic impact on entrepreneurial opportunities. In their famous study of
railroads in Massachusetts, Dobbin and Dowd showed that entrepreneurial activity
increased when the state actively encouraged it financially, that it also increased when
the state allowed cartels (which decreased competitive pressure), and that
entrepreneurship in the sector decreased when the state imposed anti-trust laws (which
increase competition)
10
. In addition, intellectual property regulation can significantly
alter entrepreneurial opportunities: countries innovation patterns and entrepreneurial
activities are systematically influenced by what can or cannot be patented
11,12
. Some
researchers have gone as far as suggesting that entrepreneurs simply choose to allocate
their efforts toward productive ends (like innovation) or destructive ones (like organized
crime), depending on the relative pay-offs offered by the society
13
. Technological
evolution, organizational environment, demand characteristics, and institutional
context are four paramount drivers of entrepreneurial opportunities. Entrepreneurs and
investors might find the proposed framework useful in guiding them in their search for
their next successful business idea(s). After all, as Louis Pasteur famously said, Chance
favors the prepared mind.


An Entrepreneur is someone who has the skills, passion and financial backing to
create wealth from new business opportunities and is willing to take full responsibility
for its success or failure.
An Intrapreneur is someone who manages that business with entrepreneurial flare in
line with the expectations of the shareholders.

In 1992, The American Heritage Dictionary acknowledged the popular use of a new
word, intrapreneur, to mean "A person within a large corporation who takes direct
responsibility for turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive
risk-taking and innovation". Intrapreneurship is now known as the practice of a
corporate management style that integrates risk-taking and innovation approaches,
as well as the reward and motivational techniques, that are more traditionally
thought of as being the province of entrepreneurship.
Intrapreneurship refers to employee initiatives in organizations to undertake
something new, without being asked to do so."
[5]
Hence, the intrapreneur focuses on
innovation and creativity, and transforms an idea into a profitable venture, while
operating within the organizational environment. Thus, intrapreneurs
are Inside entrepreneurs who follow the goal of the organization. Intrapreneurship is
an example of motivation through job design, either formally or informally. (See
also Corporate Social Entrepreneurship: intrapreneurship within the firm which is
driven to produce social capital in addition to economic capital.) Employees, such as
marketing executives
[6]
or perhaps those engaged in a special project within a larger
firm, are encouraged to behave as entrepreneurs, even though they have the
resources, capabilities and security of the larger firm to draw upon. Capturing a little
of the dynamic nature of entrepreneurial management (trying things until successful,
learning from failures, attempting to conserve resources, etc.) adds to the potential
of an otherwise static organization, without exposing those employees to the risks or
accountability normally associated with entrepreneurial failure.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ENTREPRENEUR-
INTRAPRENEUR-TRADITIONAL MANAGER

ENTREPRENEUR

People who have a talent for seeing opportunities and the abilities to develop those
opportunities into profit-making businesses.

INTRAPRENEUR

The practice of using entrepreneurial skills without taking off the risks or accountability
associated with entrepreneurial activities. It is practiced by employees within an
established organization using a systemized business model.



CHARACTERISTICS ENTREPRENEUR INTRAPRENEUR TRADITIONAL
MANAGER
PRIMARY
MOTIVES

Wants freedom, goal
oriented, self reliant,
and self motivated
Wants freedom and
access to corporate
resources, goal
oriented and self
motivated, but also
responds to
corporate rewards
and recognition.
Wants promotion
and other
traditional corporate
rewards power
motivated,

TIME
ORIENTATION

Uses and goals of 5 to
10 year growth of the
business as guides;
takes action how to
next step along the
way

End goals of 3 to 15
years, depending on
the type of venture;
urgency to meet self
imposed and
corporate time tables
Responds to quotes
and budgets ; to
weekly, monthly,
quarterly, and
annual planning
horizons; and to the
next promotion or
transfer,
TENDENCY TO
ACTION

Gets hand dirty; may
upset employee by
suddenly doing their
work,

Gets hands dirty;
may know how to
delegate but when
necessary, does what
needs to be done,
Delegates action;
supervising and
reporting takes most
energy,
SKILLS

Knows business
intimately; more
business acumen
then managerial or
political skills; often
technically trained if
in technical business;
may have had profit
and loss
responsibility in the
company,
Professional
management ; often
business school
trained; uses
abstract analytical
tools, people-
management and
political skills,
Professional
management ; often
business school
trained; uses
abstract analytical
tools, people-
management and
political skills,
ATTITUDE
TOWARDS
COURAGE AND
Self confident,
optimistic and
courageous,
Sees others being in
charge of his or her
destiny; can be
forceful and
Self confident and
courageous; many
are cynical about
the system but
DESTINY

ambitious but may
be fearful of others
ability to do him or
her in,
optimistic about
their ability to
outwit it.

FOCUS OF
ATTENTION

Primarily on
technology and
marketplace,

Both inside and
outside; sells
insiders on needs of
venture and market
place but also
focuses on
customers.
Primarily on events
inside corporation,

ATTITUDE
TOWARDS RISK

Likes moderate risk;
invests heavily but
expects to succeed,

Like moderate risks;
generally not afraid
of being fired, so sees
little personal risk,
Cautions,

USE OF MARKET
RESEARCH

Creates needs;
creates products that
often cannot be
tested with market
research; potential
customers do not yet
understand them;
talks to customers
and forms own
opinion,
Does own market
research and
initiative market
evaluation, like the
entrepreneur.

Has market studies
done to discover
needs and guide
product
conceptualization,

Posted by Manali at 03:30
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Intrapreneurs vs. Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs provide the spark. Intrapreneurs keep the flame going.
Entrepreneurs are found anywhere their vision takes them. Intrapreneurs
work within the confines of an organization.
Entrepreneurs face many hurdles, and are sometimes ridiculed and
riddled with setbacks. Intrapreneurs may sometimes have to deal with
conflict within the organization.
Entrepreneurs may find it difficult to get resources. Intrapreneurs have
their resources readily available to them.
Entrepreneurs may lose everything when they fail. Intrapreneurs still have
a paycheck to look forward to (at least for now) if they fail.
Entrepreneurs know the business on a macro scale. Intrapreneurs are
highly skilled and specialized.
What makes entrepreneurs and intrapreneur similar is the passion to see things
through to the end and the courage to face failure.
Corporate Entrepreneurs LLC is a professional services firm that is focused on helping
organizations develop corporate entrepreneurship (Intrapreneurship) as a core
competency to accelerate new business growth.
We work with individuals, innovation groups and the senior executive team to identify
and develop your organizations entrepreneurial competencies.
Activating Entrepreneurs. Corporate Entrepreneurs (intrapreneurs) are the
engines of growth. We help you identify, develop and retain these individuals by
enabling them to be more engaged, productive and innovative.
Developing Leaders. A lack of entrepreneurial leaders at the top of organizations
is stifling innovation and growth. We work with you to develop the
entrepreneurial leadership competencies needed for growth.
Generating Growth. Increasing complexity and ambiguity make growth more
challenging. We show you how to accelerate new business growth by helping you
build corporate entrepreneurship (Intrapreneurship) as a core competency.
Entrepreneur Role and responsibilities
1. Part of the responsibilities an entrepreneur has when trying to successfully operate their
business is developing the traits and qualities of a good leader, qualities that inspire
confidence and trust from not only employees, but customers as well, and the
confidence they have that you know what your doing and trust that you will do what you
say you will do, in addition to other attributes any good leader must develop and use
before anyone willingly follows them.
2. To be a successful leader the entrepreneur must develop a clear and concise vision
needed to inspire people by giving them purpose and direction, and you will get the best
out of your team, since it is only natural for people to want to be part of a success story,
and it is the entrepreneurs task as a leader to show them how you can lead them there.
3. Developing a well thought out plan is critical to accomplish you vision, and the plan
doesnt have to be expansive and elaborate, but you need to clearly define the path
which you are going to lead the team on from point A to point B, in simple, clear concise
steps and be finally, the sure to assigned timelines with deadlines to each, step of the
process, and entrepreneur needs to make sure that everyone son board with the plan
and clearly understands not only their individual roles, but the, ole of the team as well,
to insure the teams and your success.
4. If you do not have the instinct, then you must develop the leadership attribute of
decisiveness, since no one wants-to follow someone who cant make up their own mind,
especially when it comes to what is, perceived as small decisions, and this doesnt
mean make acknowledgeable decisions, but first get as much wise input and counsel as
you can, and then make an educated decision you can live with and always be ready to
make new decisions based on additional information, and remember that informed
decisive decisions is a quality of a leader that others are willing to follow.
5. A successful entrepreneur is able to adapt and make adjustments in the ever changing
world of the marketplace, adaptation to new trends, technology, products, and
marketing strategies, always working with the plan in mind, and brainstorm with the
team ways you can best adapt to changes, implement the necessary changes with the
thought always in mind that the plan is a virtual living tool, not static doctrines that would
actually be worthless if one could not adapt them to the ever changing marketplace.
6. Your role as an entrepreneur and leader is only as good as your word, and when it
comes to your word, keep it, as in if you tell someone working for you that you are going
to do something, then do it, and it is important to remember that it takes time to build the
integrity of ones word, and only a moment to undo all the work, as nothing destroys
trust and confidence like breaking your word, for which there is really no excuse.
7. Genuine praise should be given whenever it is warranted, as it is important to keep high
morale for continued high performance, and avoid even the slightest temptation to give
false praise unless you want to lessen and diminish the work thats already been done.
8. Employees will always notice entrepreneurial leaders that are honest and fair-minded,
but they are even quicker to notice dishonest and biased behaviour, even the most
subtle displays, and great leaders avoid playing favourites and destroying the high
morale of the team, always working to build and maintain the successful team.

What is the Role of an Entrepreneur in Economic
Development ?

The entrepreneur who is a business leader looks for ideas and puts them into effect in fostering
economic growth and development. Entrepreneurship is one of the most important input in the
economic development of a country. The entrepreneur acts as a trigger head to give spark to
economic activities by his entrepreneurial decisions. He plays a pivotal role not only in the
development of industrial sector of a country but also in the development of farm and service sector.
The major roles played by an entrepreneur in the economic development of an economy is discussed
in a systematic and orderly manner as follows.
(1) Promotes Capital Formation:
Entrepreneurs promote capital formation by mobilising the idle savings of public. They employ their
own as well as borrowed resources for setting up their enterprises. Such type of entrepreneurial
activities lead to value addition and creation of wealth, which is very essential for the industrial and
economic development of the country.
(2) Creates Large-Scale Employment Opportunities:
Entrepreneurs provide immediate large-scale employment to the unemployed which is a chronic
problem of underdeveloped nations. With the setting up.of more and more units by entrepreneurs,
both on small and large-scale numerous job opportunities are created for others. As time passes,
these enterprises grow, providing direct and indirect employment opportunities to many more. In
this way, entrepreneurs play an effective role in reducing the problem of unemployment in the
country which in turn clears the path towards economic development of the nation.
(3) Promotes Balanced Regional Development:
Entrepreneurs help to remove regional disparities through setting up of industries in less developed
and backward areas. The growth of industries and business in these areas lead to a large number of
public benefits like road transport, health, education, entertainment, etc. Setting up of more
industries lead to more development of backward regions and thereby promotes balanced regional
development.
(4) Reduces Concentration of Economic Power:
Economic power is the natural outcome of industrial and business activity. Industrial development
normally lead to concentration of economic power in the hands of a few individuals which results in
the growth of monopolies. In order to redress this problem a large number of entrepreneurs need to
be developed, which will help reduce the concentration of economic power amongst the population.
(5) Wealth Creation and Distribution:
It stimulates equitable redistribution of wealth and income in the interest of the country to more
people and geographic areas, thus giving benefit to larger sections of the society. Entrepreneurial
activities also generate more activities and give a multiplier effect in the economy.
(6) Increasing Gross National Product and Per Capita Income:
Entrepreneurs are always on the look out for opportunities. They explore and exploit opportunities,,
encourage effective resource mobilisation of capital and skill, bring in new products and services and
develops markets for growth of the economy. In this way, they help increasing gross national product
as well as per capita income of the people in a country. Increase in gross national product and per
capita income of the people in a country, is a sign of economic growth.
(6) Improvement in the Standard of Living:
Increase in the standard of living of the people is a characteristic feature of economic development of
the country. Entrepreneurs play a key role in increasing the standard of living of the people by
adopting latest innovations in the production of wide variety of goods and services in large scale that
too at a lower cost. This enables the people to avail better quality goods at lower prices which results
in the improvement of their standard of living.
(7) Promotes Country's Export Trade:
Entrepreneurs help in promoting a country's export-trade, which is an important ingredient of
economic development. They produce goods and services in large scale for the purpose earning huge
amount of foreign exchange from export in order to combat the import dues requirement. Hence
import substitution and export promotion ensure economic independence and development.
(8) Induces Backward and Forward Linkages:
Entrepreneurs like to work in an environment of change and try to maximise profits by innovation.
When an enterprise is established in accordance with the changing technology, it induces backward
and forward linkages which stimulate the process of economic development in the country.
(9) Facilitates Overall Development:
Entrepreneurs act as catalytic agent for change which results in chain reaction. Once an enterprise is
established, the process of industrialisation is set in motion. This unit will generate demand for
various types of units required by it and there will be so many other units which require the output of
this unit. This leads to overall development of an area due to increase in demand and setting up of
more and more units. In this way, the entrepreneurs multiply their entrepreneurial activities, thus
creating an environment of enthusiasm and conveying an impetus for overall development of the
area.
Business
Mindset
Finance
Management
Sales & Marketing
Social Media
More
o Technology
20 Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Fail
1. No Clear Cut Vision
The easiest way to fail as a business person is to set out to do business without a clear cut vision.
Your vision and mission helps you stay focused and on-track at all times.
2. Improper Management Of Finance
Entrepreneurs fail when they divert the money for their business to personal use. Adequate financial
knowledge is necessary to effectively manage and run your business. When you start out with little
or no knowledge in this regard, you are bound to fail.
3. Lack of Time Management Skills
If you do not manage your time well, you are sure headed for failure. Time management skill is
important if you want to be successful as an entrepreneur. Forming a habit around keeping
and maximizing time is highly needful.
4. Allowing Family & Friends To Interfere
When you consistently allow family and friends to interfere in your business decision, it might likely
ruin your business. As much as lies within your power, you must keep family and friends at bay.
5. Not Keeping Your Business Secret
Every business owner must keep his business secret to himself and if possible with some few
selected trusted partners. When you make your business secret common place, other people may
likely copy it and in no time you will be thrown out of your industry.
6. Lack of Management Skills
Lack of managerial skills can ruin any business. Every entrepreneur must seek to always upgrade
and refresh their management skills if they indeed run their venture well.
7. Not Hiring The Right People
When you hire the wrong people for the job, it spells doom. There is a whole lot of calamity that
could befall your brand. Make it a point of duty to hire the best hands.
8. Disregard For Business Etiquette
When you disrespect business etiquette, you are heading for failure. You must obey the ethics of the
profession you belong to. There is no rob Peter to pay Paul style when adhering strictly to business
ethics comes to play.
9. Not Focusing on Your Core Products
It is good to have an idea of a lot of things, but it pays to master a few things. One of the recipe for
failure as an entrepreneur is to be a Jack of all trades and Master of none. You have to take the bull
by the horn, and carve a niche in your particular area of interest.
10. Wrong Business Decision
Wrong business decision is one of the major reasons why entrepreneurs fail. To be successful as an
entrepreneur, you must master the art of making right decision promptly. If the decisions you make
constantly bring in positive results, then youre on the right track.
11. Wrong Financial Investment
It is very good to re-invest part of your profit to your business; but any wrong financial investment
can drain the capital of your business. Remember, your capital is the life-line of your business, guard
it with all youve got.
12. Not Paying Attention To Quality & Excellence
When you fail to pay attention to quality and excellence, you are planning to fail as an entrepreneur.
People will always seek quality and excellence; to remain in business, you must continue to give it to
them without abating.
13. Lack of Regard And Respect For Customers
Having customers patronize you is the number one reason why you are in business as an
entrepreneur. If you are fond of treating your customers badly, then be rest assured youll be out of
business soon.
14. Not Paying Attention To Your Health
It is only those that are healthy and alive that would want to do business. If you dont work hard to
remain healthy, it means youll be out of business sooner than you expect. Your health is key to the
success of your brand.
15. Over Promising and Under Delivering
Some entrepreneurs think that over promising is what makes advertising sweet. When you
consistently over- promise and you dont have the capacity to always deliver, be sure that your
customers will become weary of you and they are likely to leave you soon.
16. Working With The Wrong Values
It is very important to work with the right set of values as an entrepreneur. When you work with
wrong values, you are sure headed for failure. Your values define how you do your business and its
very easy for your customers to notice your values from the way you do business with them.
17. Inconsistency and Lack of Honesty
People dont like doing business with anyone who is inconsistent and lacks honesty. You can hardly
survive in the business world if you are not consistent. Honesty builds trust, consistency encourages
value.
18. Being Over Ambitious
It is good to be ambitious, but when you become over-ambitious as a business person, you will be
tempted to want to cut corners and that will surely lead to your down fall.
19. Mixing Emotion With Business
When you are fond of mixing emotion with business, it will sure affect some of your key business
decisions and it can affect your business negatively. If youre having personal emotional issues,
solve them and dont mix them with business activities; theyll do more harm than good.
20. Doing Everything Yourself
The fact that you are the owner of the business and you want to maximize profits doesnt mean you
can do everything yourself. Learn to delegate and outsource when necessary, if you truly wants to
avoid failure.
Nobody decides to fail at anything in life. It is the inability to follow through some principles that
causes failure. As an entrepreneur you must be ready at all time to make adjustments in areas
where you know you arent living up to expectation.
On the other hand, if you have tried to be your best, you can get better so that you will be counted
amongst the very best of brands.
MAINTAING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
1
Your target market is a specific group of consumers at which a company aims
its products and services (Entrepreneur). A target market is distinguished by
socioeconomic, demographic, and common characteristics or needs that make them the
best audience to focus on selling to. To uncover Find out which businesses are going
after your same target market. How do they differentiate themselves from other
companies in the industry? Where are they located? To find this information, business
directories can be used to search free company profiles. Information included in the
company profiles are company overview, contact information, location, key facts,
employees, and company payment rating.
2
Learn from your competition and your customers. Dont be afraid of your
competition, but rather use them as a learning tool and assess their business model.
Learn your competitors strengths and weaknesses imitate their strengths, and use
their weaknesses to your advantage. Use companies that specialize in business
information, such as Cortera, to construct and analyze a competitive landscape of the
target market. The business information you learn from your rivals will help you develop
the competitive edge you need to surpass them in your industry. Intimate customer
knowledge is equally important as competitor knowledge. Gaining in-depth insights
about your customer portfolio will allow you to maximize revenue potential, increase
customer retention, and boost prospective customers. You can use a mix of many tools
and methods to measure consumer insight and both your position in the market and the
positions of your competitors. Along with traditional company information resources,
consider social media analysis tools that allow consumer insight mining on a large
scale.
3
Create an Economic Moat. Take advantage of barriers to entry into the market,
using them to dissuade competitors from challenging your marketing share. In some
cases, an established companys ability to manipulate hurdles to enter and compete in
its market becomes an effective tool against new competition, further entrenching the
business and preserving its profit potential for the foreseeable future.
4
Stay on the cutting edge. Once youve gained a competitive advantage, your work is
far from complete. To be successful, you will need to continuously maintain your
competitive advantage. After all, your competitors are not going to sit back and allow
you to steal their market share. You can maintain your competitive advantage by
predicting future trends in your industry, constantly researching and monitoring your
competitors, and adapting to your customers wants and needs. Sometimes you may
need to take chances to keep ahead of the pack and differentiate your business, but
with big risk often comes big reward Just remember to do your research before diving
head first into new ideas.
5
Use Business Information Resources. The information revolution is here take
advantage of it! It creates a competitive advantage by providing companies with new
ways to outperform their rivals. Knowledge is power, and business information
companies provide just that. Reliable business information companies include Cortera,
Hoovers, Manta, Portfolio.com, and Goliath.
What Is Entrepreneurial Culture?
Answer
An entrepreneurial culture refers to a system of shared values, beliefs and norms of members of
an organization, including valuing creativity and tolerance of creative people, believing that
innovating and seizing market opportunities are appropriate behaviours to deal with problems
of survival and prosperity, environmental uncertainty, competitors, threats and expecting
organizational members to behave accordingly.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ENTREPRENEURIAL CULTURE
Entrepreneurial culture can be made to enable democratisation of the capacity to create and manage
(business) towards wealth creation, thereby eradicating poverty.
When people are empowered to create and manage their own businesses,
wealth creation is possible;
jobs are created;
individual and collective well being becomes a reality; and
it becomes easier for the State to better redistribute wealth to those who cannot work
(disabilities for instance) when all those who can work are empowered to do so.
Earlier definitions of entrepreneurship have referred to creation and running of innovative businesses
by people sharing a number of characteristics. Broadly speaking, entrepreneurship also includes
innovative positive social interventions (to be dealt with under Social Entrepreneurship in a later Unit).
Culture refers to attitudes and values which in the case of entrepreneurship may be linked with
autonomy, creativity and sense of responsibility (soft skills) and so on. It also refers to entrepreneurial
knowledge and skills and management competencies which have to be acquired (hard skills).
The hard aspects of culture apply to entrepreneurship because without them, an entrepreneurial
culture would not develop into a tangible act.
According to David Mc Clelland (1961), an entrepreneur is a dynamic person who takes calculated
risks. This definition has a behaviourist orientation.
Fillion (1990) defines the entrepreneur as someone who imagines, develops and realises a vision. In
economic terms, one may define an entrepreneur as someone who combines resources in such a way
as to add value.
A psychologists point of view may be that: an entrepreneur is someone who feels the need to
accomplish something, to realise his/her potential or to become his own boss.
Across all above definitions, there is a recurrence of underlying notions like: vision, value creation,
innovation, risk-taking and self-accomplishment.
Having reviewed the characteristics of entrepreneurs, one is tempted to conclude that an entrepreneur
is a product of his/her particular environment. Several authors have shown that entrepreneurs reflect
the characteristics of the time and place where they have evolved (Toulouse, 1990). The cultures, the
needs and the habits of a particular country or region shape the behaviour of entrepreneurs.
Obviously enough, with the falling of frontiers (both geographical and psychological) entrepreneurs
exert an influence that goes far beyond their own countries and/or regions.

Entrepreneurial Culture
Culture can be defined as the mix of norms, values and beliefs that are shared by a particular
community [be it a business community, a cultural (or ethnic) community, a country, or a
geographical region].

Cultural Values
Linton (1975) describes values as a predisposition to act in a certain way.
Values of entrepreneurs:
According to Sexton & Bowman (1986), entrepreneurship is a value in itself for Americans. Different
authors suggest different values for entrepreneurs:
Kets de Vries (1984): reputation, power, status and recognition
Gordon Survey of values (1976): independence, efficacy and a negative reaction to affiliation.
There is a general presumption that a society may have potential entrepreneurs, but only becomes
entrepreneurial if it has a culture that supports innovation and initiative.
Cultural Attitudes
According to J. M. Toulouse (1990), entrepreneurial culture is favoured by the following set of
attitudes:
1. Business activities are valued.
2. Individual and collective initiatives are highly rated.
3. Determination and perseverance are desirable qualities.
4. An equilibrium between security and risk is accepted.
5. The tension between stability and change is resolved.
Therefore, in a society favouring entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs are role models who are not only
acceptable, but desirable.
Learning Activity 1
In such societies, challenges are regarded as opportunities (and not threats). In societies where
entrepreneurship is absent, business challenges are left to be taken care of by foreign investors. On
the other hand, within entrepreneurial cultures, people will find inspiration in challenges. These will
enable them to act and find ways to exploit existing opportunities. An example of lack of
entrepreneurial culture in a given country is where the business community believes that government
is going to take charge of all their problems.
An entrepreneurial culture is supported by people who have a strong belief in their projects, who will
invest their physical, psychological and other resources (also including those of others!) in their
venture with a view to succeed.
Decision is taken out of reasonable certainty and out of a positive balance of probabilities based on
available information. A community favouring experimentation, R & D and innovation, has a culture
associated with risk taking. Entrepreneurship reconciles risk and security.
Starting a small business entails risks, but is also a source of gratification for the successful
entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurship has the potential to bring positive changes, both to the individual or collective
entrepreneur and to society as a whole. Entrepreneurs are change agents who can alter a given
situation and give society a product or service that can transform their behaviours and ways of living.
Hence, a society that favours status-quo and offers resistance to change does not display a culture
conducive to entrepreneurship.
Similarly, a business organisation that resists change will ultimately have to face its own
obsolescence.
According to Fortin (2003), entrepreneurial culture can be rooted in a society through four main
avenues:
- the family;
- education;
- existing business organisations; and
- local and national authorities and leaders.
Promoting an Entrepreneurial Culture within the Community
The conditions required for establishing an Entrepreneurial Culture are:
Identification and promotion of Role Models: Women entrepreneurs, for example the ladies who
lost their jobs in the textile sector and created Charmin Sud, a rural women entrepreneur
partnership. They came on television to explain how being laid off from an ailing textile industry was
for them a blessing in disguise. It allowed them to unveil their entrepreneurial potential and leadership
abilities.
Role of media: For instance, in the promotion of Entrepreneurship as a business model. Until
recently, the local TV ran a weekly documentary: Portrait dElle, in which a local women entrepreneur
was portrayed as to her new place in society as an economic (and social) agent. Similarly, a few
newspapers reserve a page regularly to promote entrepreneurial initiatives.
The Education system: Entrepreneurship modules in the curriculum at different levels.
Entrepreneurship education is now beginning to be anchored in tertiary education curricula. We have
now moved past the old paradigm whereby entrepreneurship was to be taught only in Business
faculties. The present Super GEM is a living example of the new paradigm whereby the subject is
available to all undergraduates from all fields. An IT student, a Fashion & Design student and all the
others in fact, need to know the basic business and entrepreneurship skills that are required to start a
business or to act entrepreneurially, to lead and innovate in their employer organisations.
Period of Incubation: Entrepreneurship development programmes spread over a period of time (and
not one off initiatives). Initiatives like La semaine de lEntrepreneuriat are beneficial for general
awareness, but the enthusiasm soon dies away after the caravan has left. What is truly beneficial for
culture change is a planned process that uses all the avenues mentioned in this section over a longer
period with set objectives and performance targets. In Finland, entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial
culture developed as a result of a planned Entrepreneurship decade, that is, ten years of cultural
change. This can take the form of entrepreneurship education starting at primary or secondary
education level, targeting rural women with a Microcredit scheme and so on.
Participation of leaders (political, business, opinion): Political and religious leaders to promote
entrepreneurship as a solution to current economic problems. As mentioned earlier under leadership,
a strong, charismatic leadership is required to transform a community. To change the mentality from
qualifying to get a government job to taking charge of oneself by being self employed requires
psychological push that can be facilitated by people who can influence the community. The first
people to come to our mind are the political, social and religious leaders.
Page 1
Lecture 3
CLASSIFICATION OF ENTREPRENEURS
I. According to the Type of Business
Entrepreneurs are found in various types of business coronations of varying size. We may
broadly classify them as follows:
Business Entrepreneur:
Business entrepreneurs are individuals who conceive an idea for a new product or service
and-then creates a business to materialize their idea into reality. They tap both production and
marketing resources in their search to develop a new business opportunity. They may set up a
.big establishment or a small business unit. They are called small business entrepreneurs when
found in small business units such as printing press, textile processing house, advertising
agency; readymade garments, or confectionery. In a majority of cases, entrepreneurs are found in
small trading and manufacturing business and entrepreneurship flourishes when the size of the
business is small.
Trading Entrepreneur:
Trading entrepreneur is one who undertakes trading activities and is not concerned with
the manufacturing work. He identifies potential markets, stimulates demand for his product line
and creates a desire and interest among buyers to go in for his product. He is engaged in both
domestic and overseas trade. Britain, due to geographical limitations, has developed trade
through trading entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs demonstrate their ability in pushing many
ideas ahead to promote their business.
Industrial Entrepreneur:
Industrial entrepreneur is essentially a manufacturer, who identifies the potential needs
of customers and tailors a product or service to meet the marketing needs. He is a product-
oriented man who starts in an industrial unit because of the possibility of making some new
product. The entrepreneur has the ability to convert economic resources and technology into a
considerably profitable venture. He is found in industrial units as the electronic industry, textile
units, machine tools or videocassette tape factory and the like.
Corporate Entrepreneur:

Page 2
Corporate entrepreneur is a person .who demonstrates his innovative skill in organizing
and managing corporate undertaking. A corporate undertaking is a form of business
organization, which is registered under some statute or Act, which gives it a separate legal entity.
A trust registered under the Trust Act, or companies registered under the Companies Act are
example of corporate undertakings. A corporate entrepreneur is thus an individual who plans,
develops and manages a corporate body.
Agricultural Entrepreneur:
Agricultural entrepreneurs are those entrepreneurs who undertake agricultural activities
as raising and marketing of crops, fertilisers and other inputs of agriculture. They are motivated
to raise agriculture through mechanization, irrigation and application of technologies for dry land
agriculture products. They cover a broad spectrum of the agricultural sector and include its allied
occupations.
II. According to the Technology use
The application of new technology in various succors of the national economy is essential
for the future growth of business. We may broadly classify these. entrepreneurs on the basis of
the use of technology as follows:
Technical Entrepreneur:
A technical entrepreneur is essentially compared to a craftsman. He develops improved
quality of goods because of his craftsmanship. He concentrates more on production than
marketing. On not much sales generation by and does not do various sales promotional
techniques. He demonstrates his innovative capabilities in matter of production of goods and
rendering of services. The greatest strength, which the technical entrepreneur has, is his skill in
production techniques.
Non-technical Entrepreneur:
Non-technical entrepreneurs are those who are not concerned with the technical aspects
of the product in which they deal. They are concerned only with developing alternative
marketing and distribution strategies to promote their business.
Professional Entrepreneur:
Professional entrepreneur is a person who is interested in establishing a business, but
does not have interest in managing or operating it once it is established. A professional

Page 3
entrepreneur sells out the running business and starts another venture with the sales proceeds.
Such an entrepreneur is dynamic and he conceives new ideas to develop alternative projects.
III. According to the Entrepreneur and Motivation
Motivation is the force that influences the efforts of the entrepreneur to achieve his
objectives. An entrepreneur is motivated to achieve or prove his excellence in job performance.
He is also motivated to influence others by demonstrating his business acumen.
Pure Entrepreneur
A pure entrepreneur is an individual who is motivated by psychological and economic
rewards. He undertakes an entrepreneurial activity for his personal satisfaction in work, ego or
status.
Induced Entrepreneur
Induced entrepreneur is one who is induced to take up an entrepreneurial task due to the
policy measures of the government that provides assistance, Incentives, concessions and
necessary overhead, facilities to start a venture. Most of the induced entrepreneurs enter business
due to financial, technical and several other facilities provided to them by the state agencies to
promote entrepreneurship. A person with a sound project is provided package assistance to his
project. Today, import restriction and allocation to production quotas to mall units have induced
many people to start a small-scale industry.
Motivated Entrepreneur
New entrepreneurs are motivated by the desire for self-fulfillment. They come into being
because of the possibility of making and marketing some new product for the use of consumers.
If the product is developed to a saleable stage, the entrepreneur is further motivated by reward in
terms of profit.
Spontaneous Entrepreneur
These entrepreneurs start their business their by Entrepreneur. They are persons with
initiative, boldness and confidence in their_- ability, which activate, them, underage
entrepreneurial activity. Such entrepreneurs have a strong conviction and confidence in their
inborn ability.
IV. According to the Growth and Entrepreneurs
The development of a new venture has a greater chance of success. The entrepreneurs a
new and open field of business. The customers approval to the new product gives them

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psychological satisfaction and enormous profit. The industrial units are identified as units of high
growth, medium growth and low growth industries and as such we have Growth Entrepreneur
and Super-Growth Entrepreneur.
Growth Entrepreneur:
Growth entrepreneurs are those who necessarily take up a high growth industry, which
has substantial growth prospects.
Super-Growth Entrepreneur:
Super-growth entrepreneurs are those who have shown enormous growth of performance
in their venture. The growth performance is identified by the liquidity of funds, profitability and
gearing.
V. According to the Entrepreneur and Stages of Development
Entrepreneurs may also be classified as the first generation entrepreneur, modern
entrepreneur and classical entrepreneur depending upon the stage of development.
They are explained below:
First-Generation Entrepreneur:
A first-generation entrepreneur is one who starts an. industrial unit by innovative skill.
He is essentially an innovator, combining different technologies to produce a marketable product
or service. .
Modern Entrepreneur:
A modern entrepreneur is one who undertakes those ventures, which go well along with
the changing demand in the market. They undertake those ventures, which suit the current
marketing needs.
Classical Entrepreneur:
A classical entrepreneur is one who is concerned with the customers and marketing needs
through the development of a self-supporting venture. He is a stereotype entrepreneur whose aim
is to maximise his economic returns at a level consistent with the survival of the firm with or
without an element of growth.
VI. Others
Innovating entrepreneurship is characterized by aggressive assemblage in information
and analysis of results, deriving from a novel combination of factors. Men / women in this group

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are generally aggressive in experimentation who exhibit cleverness in putting attractive
possibilities into practice. One need not invent but convert even old established products or
services by changing their utility, their value, and their economic characteristics into something
new, attractive and utilitarian. Therein lies the key to their phenomenal success. Such an
entrepreneur is one who sees the opportunity for introducing a new technique of production
process or a new commodity or a new market or a new service or even the reorganization of an
existing enterprise