Who Is An Entrepreneur?

The concept of entrepreneurship has been defined and described by many in varying ways. So who finally is the entrepreneur that everyone talks of? Research on entrepreneurship and everyday life alludes to housewives starting businesses, reinforcing the unbefitting theory that entrepreneurship is limited to small businesses. For this reason, many fail to understand that most inventions are successful only because they were conceived in an entrepreneurial way.

The word entrepreneur comes from a 13^th century French verb, “entreprendre”, which means to undertake or do something. This definition has been gradually redefined by economists by giving more attributes to this definition. In the 16^th century, it was related to business. By the 18^th century, risk was added to the definition, acknowledging the fact that a business venture had no profit guarantee. 

In the 19^th century, the need for skills was acknowledged in the definition. These skills are today called business skills and management skills. In the 20^th century, calculated risk was added. The concept of innovation was added in the last half of the 20^th century. These definitions (economic) assume success is measurable only in financial terms such as return on investment (ROI). Their focus is therefore the traditional western business model.  The measurement of entrepreneurial success solely on a financial basis has been disproved by the creation of social entrepreneurship.

Given that the business definition of entrepreneurship does not fit all entrepreneurial initiatives, a non-business definition of entrepreneurship has been sought for. So far, the best encountered is that of Professor Howard Stevenson of the HBS (Harvard Business School). He defined entrepreneurship as follows: “The pursuit of opportunity without regard to the resources currently controlled.”