Topic 5: Are entrepreneurs born or made?

Academic English Class 1

Are entrepreneurs born or made?

INTRODUCTION
This paper will show that entrepreneurship can be taught. A number of
reasons and evidence will be presented in support of this. Firstly, skills and
knowledge related to entrepreneurship can be taught in school. Secondly, the
process of becoming an entrepreneur involves considerable effort and time, even for
people who have the gifted skills in this area needs time to learn and grow. Thirdly,
government support and policies that can create an incentive for new entrepreneurs
to participate in the market. The opposing view suggests that some individuals who
are born into wealthy families are expected to grow up becoming entrepreneurs.
However, given that people who come from the middle class and lower level tend to
work harder to compensate for the gap thus becoming successful entrepreneurs.
These arguments show that entrepreneurs can be made. 

BODY
Firstly, skills and knowledge related to entrepreneurship can be taught in
school. University education plays an important role in entrepreneurial orientation of
students, exhibits a positive relation to business and incentive to entrepreneurship
for undergraduates (Seidahmetov, 2014). In North American top universities which
provide MBA programs, lectures related to entrepreneurship do not follow the
traditional education, besides, the schools develop their own philosophies in
teaching which shows a positive result in students participation and promotes
entrepreneurship potential (Bhatia and Levina, 2020). Therefore, education is taking
steps in molding a better teaching and learning environment where learners can
apply entrepreneurship knowledge into practice.

Secondly, the process of becoming an entrepreneur may involve a

considerable amount of effort and time, and even individuals who are gifted in this
field require time to learn and progress. According to research conducted in the
United States, "90% of businesses fail within the first five years" (Forbes magazine,
2015) and the phenomenon is also observed throughout Asia. In reality, failures may
provide critical insights in a variety of circumstances, ranging from minor mistakes
and errors to large-scale disasters (Dahlin et.al, 2018). Therefore, individuals with
entrepreneurial intention might experience in-depth training before starting up their
own business. As a result, entrepreneurs may be fostered through hard work and
self-training.

Thirdly, government support and policies can create a positive incentive in

entrepreneurship and increase the number of new businesses. Government policy
plays a crucial role in the development of entrepreneurship and creates an impact on
economic development (Obaji et.al, 2014). According to the study about the literature
on entrepreneurship, in terms of new venture creation, and economic growth suggest
that promoting entrepreneurial activity in general might generate subsequent
macroeconomic growth (Hessels et.al, 2011). Subsequently, the government should
make policies that support entrepreneurship because this action may support
existing startups in the market and encourage more new business in the future.

The opposing view suggests that some individuals who are born in wealthy
families, and entrepreneur-based families likely grow up becoming entrepreneurs
because they might inherit family capital and receive financial support from the
previous generation. Varamaki et.al claims that those who had either a mother or
father as an entrepreneur had a higher initial level of entrepreneurial intentions
(Varamaki et.al, 2015).

However, an argument for the topic is that people establish their business
because they want to improve living standards and make an influence on society,
especially for people who come from the middle and lower class. In China, more
entrepreneurs in rural areas now start their businesses in the agriculture sector and
the growth of farmer entrepreneurship generates impacts on rural poverty and helps
to improve living standard, and at the same time serve as a lesson for other
developing countries in the fight against rural poverty (Naminse et.al, 2018).
Furthermore, Perri et.al study on entrepreneurs in Asia countries, such as China and
Vietnam, suggests that residents face numerous problems including inequity in
natural resources, weak legal system in operating property rights, and corruption. As
a result, people are motivated by the desire for improved economic status, higher
income and job security (Perri et.al, 2012).
 
CONCLUSION
This paper has clearly shown that entrepreneurs can be made. The main
arguments given were that entrepreneurship can be taught in school, becoming an
entrepreneur involves considerable effort and time, government support, and policies
that can encourage new entrepreneurs to participate in the market. The
counterargument suggests that some individuals who are born into wealthy families
are expected to grow up becoming entrepreneurs. However, given that people who
come from the middle class and lower level are encouraged to compensate for the
gap and become entrepreneurs. Consequently, with advancements in education and
government funding, not only persons born wealthy can be entrepreneurs, but
entrepreneurs may also be formed through hard work and training.
 
REFERENCES
Ashish K. Bhatia and Natalia Levina (2020). Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught in a
Classroom?. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Publishing.

Dahlin, K. B., Chuang, Y. T., & Roulet, T. J. (2018). Opportunity, motivation, and
ability to learn from failures and errors: Review, synthesis, and ways to move
forward. Academy of Management Annals, 12(1), 252-277.

Forbes Magazine (2015) Retrieved 02 Jul 2017 from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilPatel/2015/01/16/90-of-startups-will-fail-heres-what-
you-need-to-know-about-the10/#16e1db096679

Golden Gate Ventures. (2019). Southeast Asia Exit Landscape – A New Frontier.
Retrieved from https://www.insead.edu/sites/default/files/assets/dept/centres/gpei/
docs/golden-gate-ventures-insead-sea-exit-landscape.pdf

Hessels, J., & van Stel, A. (2011). Entrepreneurship, export orientation, and
economic growth. Small business economics, 37(2), 255-268.
Naminse, E. Y., & Zhuang, J. (2018). Does farmer entrepreneurship alleviate rural
poverty in China? Evidence from Guangxi Province. PloS one, 13(3), e0194912.

Obaji, N. O., & Olugu, M. U. (2014). The role of government policy in

entrepreneurship development. Science Journal of Business and Management, 2(4),
109-115.

Perri, D. F., & Chu, H. M. (2012). Entrepreneurs in China and Vietnam: Motivations
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Schoon, I., & Duckworth, K. (2012). Who becomes an entrepreneur? Early life
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Seidahmetov, M., Ibraimova, S., Yesbolova, A., Mergenbayeva, A., Zhadigerova, G.,
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