12.1.2022
I define entrepreneurship as the discipline of translating change of culture, technology or other external factors into usable and valuable solutions for customers. And the most common vehicle to do so, is a startup. Yet, entrepreneurship does not automatically mean "innovation". One can practise entrepreneurship without being innovative. The individual, who opens a bakery down the street, is just as entrepreneurial as a tech startup founder team in silicon valley.
However, mixing entrepreneurship and innovation is usually what people get most excited about - simply because the potential "Return on Investment'' (ROI) is the largest. Professional investors in the "Venture Capital '' (VC) world are specialised in finding entrepreneurs who introduce new, innovative solutions to the market. Our preconceived notions about entrepreneurship stem from that VC & startup world. Especially from stories like Facebook, Google or Amazon: Companies that return 1.000x of their investment and grow to dominate entire market domains.
However, the largest part of our economy is still made up of Small & Medium sized (SMB) businesses - those are businesses that might never reach the likes of the giants mentioned above. In fact, according to a recent Deloitte report, 99% of all US businesses are SMBs.
Whether you are running an innovative company with 1000s of employees or a new bakery down the street - you are practising entrepreneurship. I define a startup as a company "in search for a repeatable business model". It's a vehicle in the form of a company, designed to mix entrepreneurship and innovation and has the potential to lead to exponential growth and 1000x ROI.