Entrepreneurship
Are you an entrepreneur? If you answer “yes”, do you know which type? I think there are five main types of entrepreneurs.
The first type is an innovator and a visionary. They may be experts in their fields. They invent disruptive technology, create new markets, and explore new ways of doing things better and in a more efficient way. They build ventures, bring large-scale changes to society and the world, and create new economies and new industry jobs. They are willing to risk their careers, and to take financial risks in pursuit of their goals and objectives. Generally, their endeavors are capital – intensive, and backed by some venture funding. (Exception: eBay)
The second type is an independent small – business owner. This group just can’t stand working for others. They are not necessarily innovators or inventors of new products, services, or technologies. They just want to start a business and make a living, so as not to have to answer to anyone else. I suspect that over 50% of self proclaimed entrepreneurs fall under this category. This group creates few jobs and has some employees (few to hundreds).
The third type is a freelancer, or a contractor. Those belonging to this group work for themselves by contracting their services to clients. They want total freedom, and don’t wish to run a business or manage people. Generally, they don’t have a physical office. Sometimes they partner with other freelancers on projects, and may have 1 or less business partners.
The fourth type is an artist, or a hobbyist. During their spare time, they create cool and fun products and services, for fun and notoriety. They like to work on projects to showcase their talent, and don’t care if they’re making money. Some of the best or random, creative, and fun ideas actually come from this group. The challenge is to figure out a way to monetize these ideas and to create a sustainable business model around them.
The fifth type is an individual who finds innovative solutions to a wide variety of social and economic problems. These range from health care to education, to renewable energy, and to micro-lending business to the poor. We can call them “social entrepreneurs”, whether they are non-profit, or structured as a for-profit “social business”. The term “social business” has been heavily promoted and redefined by the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dr. Muhammad Yunus. As the founder of Grameen Bank, Dr.Yunus has helped millions of poor people (mainly women), by offering them small loans to start businesses, thus lifting their families out of poverty.
Once you’ve figured out what type of entrepreneur you are, you can align yourself with the right partners, set up appropriate ownership structure, and create the right financial, legal, and operational support system that will optimize your chances of success. I think that The Barbarian Group has many talented individuals from all five categories, and that its culture offers different degrees of creative and innovative freedom. For further discussion on this topic, please come to “Startup-with-Jay” venture talk. First Monday of each month, 7pm, at The Barbarian Boston office. Registration is required due to limited seating. Please email inquiry to jay@barbariangroup.com
5 comments
Personally, I worked on something stupid called Handi-Lunches, which was based on the French concept of degustation (sp?) but more precisely the idea of grazing, or eat all day long. There were about 8 different things in this little box each of which had its own package. It was an environmental disaster in the making. Some of the other stuff was actually really good, like some dry BBQ sauce or some fat-free yogurt cheese spreads in lieu of butter.
Anyway, this new GM came to work there and said "why are all my best people spending their time on the future? I need to sell products today!" And thusly disbanded Intrepreneurs Unlimited. So, I guess, I was an intrepreneur for about six months.
do real work around here ;) .
Doug, does this mean you're not coming?
Bruce, I think that Handi-lunches actually have some Legs. If they had
some "eatable" packaging back end, would've been a hit. It's a great
story you have. I don't know what's the secret sauce for
"Intrepreneurship" but I suspect some combination of risk sharing between
employee, employer and outside sponsor/venture will add to the chance of
success.
One of the local company (Waltham, MA) I can think of is Thermo Eletron
Corp, now ThermoFisher Scientific. (www.thermo.com) They started out as
one company back in 1956 and spun off over 150 along the way through
"intrepreneurship". Today, they are a $23 billion public company. I
remember they were very successful over the 80/90s in incubating ideas and
promote internal spin-offs. Employees with innovative ideas were given
money and go start something independently within the Thermo group. But
somehow they got over-extended at some point and have to consolidate some
"units".
There will be a forum at MIT on June 10 and the founders of Thermo will be
there. The topic for discussion is "DNA of an Entrepreneur". I will be
there to learn from them and find out what really happened. Please let me
know if anyone is interested to attend and I will register for you.
I'd say that every entrepreneur is somewhat different but all have an idea of some sort -- good or bad. The question I have is "What separates a successful entrepreneur from one that fails?" There really isn't a good answer -- primarily because there are factors that can be out of control -- luck, for instance. Now, some will say that you make your own luck, but if that were true there would be more 2nd (or 3rd) time success story entrepreneurs than here are. I'd also argue that many great, innovative ideas don't bring large scale changes to society or the world -- but bring changes to their industry or their customers.
One thing is certain, few entrepreneurs succeed without an idea, the drive and ambition to get the idea going, the tenacity to stick with it and learn and grow from your mistakes and market needs, and a little bit of luck.