9/30/2012

Famous Entrepreneurs

Who am I?
Bill Gates
What’s my Company?
Founder & Chairman, Microsoft
• 53 years old, Harvard University (not!)
• 3rd •richest person in America, $58 billion
53 years old, Harvard University (not!)
• 3rd richest person in America, $58 billion
• Started his company at 20 years of age
• Started his company at 20 years of age

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Famous Entrepreneurs

Who am I?
Larry Page
What’s my Company?
Founder & President, Google
• 35 years old, University of Michigan
• 120• th35 years old, University of Michigan
richest person in America, $7 billion
• 14th richest person in America, $16 billion
• Started his company at 28 years of age
• Started his company at 28 years of age

Famous Entrepreneurs

Pierre Omidyar
Who am I?
Founder & Chairman, eBay
What’s my Company?
41 years old, Tufts University
• 41 years old, graduated Tufts University
• 120th richest person in America, $7 billion
• Started his company at 28 years of age

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Famous Entrepreneurs

Who am I?
Donald Trump
What’s my Company?
Owner, The Trump Organization
• Manhattan Real Estate Developer
• Owns 3 Casinos, 6 Golf Courses
• Star of TV Show, “The Apprentice”

Famous Entrepreneurs

Who am I?
Mark Zuckerberg
What’s my Company?
Founder & CEO, Facebook
• 24 years old, Harvard University
• Youngest billionaire ever, $1.5 billion
• Started his company at 16 years of age

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A Definition
 Entrepreneurship seeks to understand how 
opportunities to create something new arise and are 
discovered or created by specific persons who then use 
various means to exploit or develop them, thus 
producing a wide range of effects. (Baron, 2005)
 Entrepreneur is “someone who takes nothing for 
granted, assumes change is possible, and follows 
throughs; someone incapable of confronting reality 
without thinking about ways to improve it; and for 
whom action is a natural consequence of thought.” 
(Bober, 1998. page : 153)

Others?
 Entrepreneurship
 Strategic thinking and risk‐taking behavior that results 
in the creation of new opportunities for individuals 
and/or organizations.
 Entrepreneurs
 Risk‐taking individuals who take actions to pursue 
opportunities and situations others may fail to recognize  
or may view as problems or threats.

Management - Chapter 6
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A Definition : Entrepreneurial Profile
 Desire and willingness to take initiative
 Preference for moderate risk
Entrepreneurs are not wild risk takers but are instead calculating risk 
takers. The goal may appear to be high‐even impossible‐from other’s 
perspective, but entrepreneurs believe that their goals are reasonable 
and attainable.
 Confidence in their ability to succeed
 Self‐reliance
 Perseverance
Even when things don’t work out as they planned, entrepreneurs don’t 
give up, they simply keep trying

A Definition : Entrepreneurial Profile
 Desire for immediate feedback
 High level of energy
 Competitiveness
 Future orientation
For new business opportunities, entrepreneurs observe the same events 
other people do, but they can see something different
 Skill at organizing
 Value of achievement over money
“Money is not the driving motive of most entrepreneurs”, 
(Nick Grouf, founder of a high‐tech company)

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A Definition : Other Characteristics
 High degree of commitment
 Tolerance for ambiguity
Because these business builders constantly make decisions using new, 
somestimes conflicting, information gleaned from a variety of 
unfamiliar process
 Flexibility
 Tenacity
Successful entrepreneurs have the willpower to conquer the barriers 
that stand in the way of their success

 The Most Important Characteristics of Entrepreneurs: The 10 Ds

 Dream: Entrepreneurs have a vision of what the future could be like for them and their
businesses. And, more important, they have the ability to implement their dreams.
 Decisiveness: They don’t procrastinate. They make decisions swiftly. Their swiftness is a key
factor in their success.
 Doers: Once they decide on a course of action, they implement it as quickly as possible.
 Determination: They implement their ventures with total commitment. They seldom give up,
even when confronted by obstacles that seem insurmountable.
 Dedication: They are totally dedicated to their businesses, sometimes at considerable cost to
their relationships with friends and families. They work tirelessly. Twelve-hour days, and
seven-day work weeks are not uncommon when an entrepreneur is striving to get a business off
the ground.
 Devotion: Entrepreneurs love what they do. It is that love that sustains them when the going
gets tough. And it is love of their product or service that makes them so effective at selling it.
 Details: It is said that the devil resides in the details. That is never more true than in starting
and growing a business. The entrepreneur must be on top of the critical details.
 Destiny: They want to be in charge of their own destiny rather than dependent on an employer.
 Dollars: Getting rich is not the prime motivator of entrepreneurs. Money is more a measure of
success. They assume that if they are successful they will be rewarded.
 Distribute: Entrepreneurs distribute the ownership of their businesses with key employees who
are critical to the success of the business.

Bygrave & Zacharakis, 2007.

Entrepreneurship, New York: Wiley. ©

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Entrepreneurial Opportunities
From Information
• Entrepreneurial opportunities exist because 
people have different information. 
• Different information leads to different 
decisions.
• Superior information leads to better 
decisions.  

Entrepreneurial Opportunities
From Change : 
Truly valuable entrepreneurial opportunities come from an external 
change that either 

• Makes it possible to do things that had not been 
done before. 
• Makes it possible to do something in a more 
valuable way. 
(Josef Schumpeter)

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Entrepreneurial Opportunities
From Change
• Technological change makes it possible for people to do 
things in new and more productive ways.
• Larger technological changes are a greater source of 
opportunity.
• Some regulatory change can support particular types of 
business activities
• Some regulatory change increases demand for particular 
activities or subsidize firms that undertake them
• Social and demographic change makes it possible to 
generate solutions to customer needs that are more 
productive than those currently available

Entrepreneurial Opportunities
Facts (in US)
 Self employment grew to 10.5 million people in 1997
 From 1996 to 2006, self employment as a primary occupation is 
expected to increase by 50%
 Home based business ownership has exploded into the economy 
and now represents 52% of small firms and 10% of all revenue
 Of the 24,8% million businesses in existence (5,5 million of 
which are employer business), 97% are considered small.
 Approximately 800.000 new employer firms will be added by 
2005.
 Women’s share of self‐employment is expected to be about equal 
to that of men by 2005

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Enterpreneurial Opportunities
Facts
 The percentage of small business with access to the 
internet nearly doubled from 1996 to 1998‐from 21,5% to 
41,2%, respectively.
 Online retail marketing is experiencing about 200% annual 
growth, and online traffic has been doubling every 100 days
 By 2003, it is estimated that almost one‐third of all 
business‐to‐business transactions will be performed via e‐
commerce

Enterpreneurial Opportunities
Facts

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Eleven Deadly Mistakes of Entrepreneurship
Management Incompetence (Primary Cause)
Lack of Experience

Forcing a Flawed Idea

Undercapitalization

Poor Cash Management

Lack of Strategic Management

Weak Marketing Effort

Uncontrolled Growth

Poor Location

Lack of Inventory Control

Inability to Make the Enterpreneurial Transition

Putting Failure into Perspective
 Entrepreneurs see failure for what it really is : an 
opportunity to learn what doesn’t work.
Example : Walt Disney was fired from newspaper job because, 
according to his boss, he “lacked ideas”. Disney also went bankrupt 
several times before he created Disneyland
 The only people who never fail are those who never do 
anything or never attempt anything new.

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How to Avoid the Pitfalls
 Know your business in depth
 Prepare a business plan
 Manage financial resources
 Understand financial statements
 Learn to manage people effectively
 Set your business apart from the competition
 Keep in tune with yourself

The Myth of Entrepreneurship
 Myth 1 : Entrepreneurs are doers, not thinkers
The emphasis today on the creation of clear and complete business plans is 
an indication that “thinking” entrepreneurs are as important as “doing” 
entrepreneurs
 Myth 2 : Entrepreneurs are born, not made
Like all disciplines, entrepreneurship has models, processes, and case studies 
that allow the topic to be studied and the knowledge to be acquired
 Myth 3 : Entrepreneurs are always inventors
Example: Ray Kroc did not invent the fast‐food franchise, but his 
innovative ideas made McD’s the largest fast‐food enterprise
 Myth 4 : Entrepreneurs are academic and social misfits
Historically, in fact, educational and social organizations did not 
recognize the entrepreneur.

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The Myth of Entrepreneurship
 Myth 5 : Entrepreneurs must fits the “profile”
Many books and articles have presented checklists of characteristics of 
the successfullentrepreneur but entrepreneurial perspective within 
individuals is more understandable than a particular profile
 Myth 6 : All entrepreneurs need is money
For successful entrepreneurs, money is a resource but never an end in 
itself.
 Myth 7 : All entrepreneurs need is luck
What appears to be luck really is preparation, determination, desire, 
knowledge, and innovativeness.
 Myth 8 : Ignorance is bliss for entrepreneurs
Careful planning is the mark of an accomplished entrepreneur

The Myth of Entrepreneurship
 Myth 9 : Entrepreneurs seek success but 
experience high failure rates
Tracing 814.000 business started in 1977, Kirchoff found that more than 
50% were still surviving under their owners or new owners, 28% 
voluntarily closed down, and only 18% actually “failed” in the sense of 
leaving behind outstanding liabilities.
 Myth 10 : Entrepreneurs are extreme risk takers 
(gamblers)
Most successful entrepreneurs work hard through planning and 
preparation to minimize the risk involved in order to better control the 
destiny of their vision.

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The Process of Entrepreneurship
 Recognition of an opportunity
 Deciding to proceed and assembling resources
 Launching a new venture
 Building success
 Harvesting the rewards

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