What is an Entrepreneur

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What is an Entrepreneur?
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Andrew Carnegie

• Son of Scottish Immigrants who worked in cotton
  mills
• Worked his way up from telegraph operator to
  superintendent of military railroads telegraphs
• Founded Carnegie Steel which vertically
  integrated with other industries to become giant
  U.S. Steel
• Gave lots of money to charitable organizations
  such as libraries and universities

3
Sir Richard Branson

• Started selling discounted records out of the
  trunk of his car
• Record business would become Virgin Records
  which included both retail and recording labels
• Founded Virgin Airways, Virgin Mobile, Virgin
  trains, etc.

4
Walt Disney

• Sold drawings laugh-o-grams in high school to
  make extra money
• Pooled money to start a Hollywood cartoon studio
• Developed many characters including Mickey Mouse
  and some of feature length cartoons
• Studio became entertainment empire including
  theme parks

5
Mary Kay Ash

• After long career in direct sales she decided to
  write a book to help women in businessended up
  with a dream plan
• Used 5000 life savings to start Mary Kay
  Cosmetics
• Company became among largest Cosmetics sellers
  provided women with a part time business
  opportunity

6
Bill Gates

• Dropped out of Harvard to work on BASIC
  programming language which would become
  foundation of Microsoft
• Created operating system MS-DOS and the Windows
  for the IBM computer
• Among worlds richest people, he started the Bill
  Melinda Gates Foundation

7
Steve Jobs

• College dropout who founded started business
  making computers in his parents garage
• Founded and managed Apple whos Macintosh
  Computers were the first to use a Graphical User
  Interface (GUI)
• Interest in graphics resulted in the founding of
  Pixar from the graphics division and Apple

8
Richard W. Sears

• Sold watches at railroad stations
• Moved watch company to Chicago where he could
  take advantage of railroad and communication
  systems to centrally manage his company
• First mail order catalog that sold directly to
  peoples homes.

9
Russell Simmons

• Started managing local hip-hop artists in New
  York
• Founded Def Jam records which mass marketed hip
  hop for the first time
• Expanded company into Rush Communications which
  includes clothing, movie, television, magazines,
  etc.

10
Sam Walton

• Son of Oklahoma farmers during Great Depression
• Opened a variety store that kept prices low by
  cutting out the middleman and buying bulk from
  wholesalers
• Large Walmart stores had strategically
  centralized distribution centers and computerized
  inventory system

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Oprah Winfrey

• Poor single teenage mother got career start as
  local news co-anchor
• Talk show AM Chicago became the Oprah Winfrey
  Show which became most popular daytime talk show
  at time when almost all shows were anchored by
  white males
• Adopted less tabloid style and tackled womens
  issues
• Developed production company which includes film,
  magazines, radio, cable, etc.

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• Who else do we think of when we think about the
  prototypical entrepreneur?
• What do these people have in common?

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Common Assumptionsup by the bootstraps

• SHANE, SCOTT. THE ILLUSIONS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
  2008. P.1
• Theres the story about the penniless
  high-school dropout who comes to America with 10
  in his pocket and starts a construction company
  that makes him a multimillionaire, or theres the
  one about the engineers who invent an Internet
  phone, get some venture capital, and build a
  billion-dollar company

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Horatio Alger Story

• 19th century Unitarian Minister turned dime
  novelist
• Rags to Riches stories about young poor men who
  work had to achieve success

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Common Assumptionsa rare breed

• SHANE, SCOTT. THE ILLUSIONS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
  2008. P.3
• Our myths tell us that entrepreneurs are a rare
  breed, a kind of genius who is born, not made.
• BARBARA BIRD, PROFESSOR AT THE KOGOOD SCHOOL OF
  BUSINESS AT AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

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Common AssumptionsThe Engine of the Economy

• TOZZI, JOHN. THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP MYTH.
  HTTP//WWW.BUSINESSWEEK.COM/SMALLBIZ/CONTENT/JAN20
  08/SB20080123_809271.HTM. JANUARY 23, 2008.
• Entrepreneurship creates jobs and drives the
  U.S. economy, making smart founders and savvy
  investors rich in the process

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Assumption Solution to unemployment / economic
downturn.

• SENATOR MURRAY. JULY 14, 2008. SENATE REPORT
  110-418 110TH CONGRESS, 2D SESSION 110 S. RPT.
  418
• To promote economic development, create jobs
  and increase housing capacity the Committee
  has provided an increase of 12,000,000 for
  for the purpose of conducting economic
  development and entrepreneurship activities .
  This funding should be used for such activities
  as the establishment of revolving loan programs,
  business planning and development and for
  increasing affordable housing.

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ASSUMPTION entrepreneurs tend to be high-tech
and innovative

• STEVEN A. GEDEONM PROFESSOR OF BIZ_at_ RYERSON U.

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ASSUMPTION many entrepreneurs drop out of school
and get rich quick
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Shane Summarizes our Assumptions

• Common sense notions about entrepreneurship
• America leads the world in entrepreneurial
  activity
• Most start-ups are tech firms
• Most start-ups get venture capital
• Immigrants start most new businesses
• Business owners tend to be wealthier than
  non-business owners
• Entrepreneurs can rely on charisma and networking
  to achieve success

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Characteristics

• GADBALL VIDEO CHARACTERISTICS OF ENTREPRENEURS
  / WHAT IS AN ENTREPRENERUR

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America The Land of the Entrepreneur

• Are we in the midst of the most entrepreneurial
  era in American History?
• Do we assume that small business is on the rise
  in the U.S.?
• Do Americans start more businesses than people in
  other parts of the world?

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America The Land of the Entrepreneur

• Premise small businesses are not engines for job
  growth.
• Premise entrepreneurship is America not on the
  rise.
• Premise the United States is less
  entrepreneurial than we might think.
• Why do countries with higher wages and living
  standards have lower rates of entrepreneurship?

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• Premise Most American start-ups are not in
  business hot spots such as Silicone Valley
• Premise Start-ups do not tend to be high-tech or
  particularly innovative.
• Premise Availability of venture capital does not
  increase business start-ups in an area

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Summary Key Myths and Realities from Chapter 1

• America isnt becoming a more entrepreneurial
  place the rate at which new start-ups are
  created in this country is actually declining
• The United States is not one of the most
  entrepreneurial countries in the world
• People are more likely to start companies in
  poorer and more agricultural places than in
  places that are richer and more reliant on
  manufacturing
• People in places with high rates of unemployment
  are more likely to start businesses
• Capital availability doesnt increase the number
  of start-ups in an area

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Who Becomes and Entrepreneur?

• Premise Entrepreneurs are not a rare breed

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The Myth of Entrepreneurship

• Why should we be concerned about the common
  narrative of entrepreneurship vs. the empirical
  reality?