Entrepreneur – definition and examples

An Entrepreneur is a person who creates and manages any business by identifying a need and benefiting from the opportunity. This usually comes with considerable risk, personal sacrifice, and initiative.

We usually see the entrepreneur as an individual who innovates and produces new ideas, goods, or services.

They are also at risk of losing their capital. They run that risk because like any other business in the world, there is a chance of failure.

An entrepreneur can be the owner, a partner, or in some cases the majority shareholder in the venture. They usually assume all roles that involve managing the business activities.

According to the Cambridge dictionary, an entrepreneur is:

Someone who starts their own business, especially when this involves seeing a new opportunity.”


Entrepreneur
All successful entrepreneurs have the following equation in common: Entrepreneur + Capital = Products + Customers = Business (Data Source: entrepreneur.com)

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurs design, launch, and run new businesses. Therefore, most of their companies are initially small ones. They have ‘entrepreneurship.’

Entrepreneurship is the capacity and willingness to create and manage a business venture. It also includes being willing to take risks so that their venture can make a profit.

Entrepreneurs are enterprising people, i.e., they are daring in business and pursue their new ideas, regardless of the risks.


Etymology of entrepreneur

Etymology is the origin of words and how they evolved over time.

The word ‘entrepreneur’ emerged in the English language in the 19th century. Initially, it meant a ‘manager or promoter of a theatrical production.’ The word comes from the French word ‘entreprendre,’ which means ‘to undertake.’

According to etymonline.com:

The word first crossed the Channel late 15c. (Middle English entreprenour) but did not stay. Meaning ‘business manager’ is from 1852.”

According to the economist Joseph A. Schumpeter, an entrepreneur is not always driven by profit. Instead, they use it make comparisons with their previous performance to gauge their success. Schumpeter (1883-1950) was an Austrian-American political economist who worked as a Harvard University professor.

Entrepreneurs are important components of a capitalist economy. They are important because they contribute to the development of new goods and services.

They also ensure that larger companies adapt to the changes in the market because of the increasing competition that entrepreneurs represent.

Not all entrepreneurs follow the same path. However, typically they first identify an opportunity in the market or a problem that needs solving.

Then they plan how to solve that problem or exploit that opportunity by using a diverse set of skills.