What is Entrepreneurship?

Academic Definition (Stevenson & Jarillo)

Entrepreneurship is the process by which individuals pursue opportunities without regard to resources they currently control.

Venture Capitalist (Fred Wilson)

Entrepreneurship is the art of turning an idea into a business.

Explanation of What Entrepreneurs Do

Entrepreneurs assemble and then integrate all the resources needed –the money, the people, the business model, the strategy—needed to transform an invention or an idea into a viable business.

Corporate Entrepreneurship

•   Is the conceptualization of entrepreneurship at the firm level.
•   All firms fall along a conceptual continuum that ranges from highly conservative to highly entrepreneurial.
•   The position of a firm on this continuum is referred to as its entrepreneurial intensity.

There is tremendous interest in entrepreneurship in the U.S. and around the world.

According to the 2007 GEM study, 9.6% of Americans are actively engaged in starting a business or are the owner/manager of a business that is less than three years old.

Indications of Increased Interest in Entrepreneurship

Books: Amazon.com lists over 45,000 books dealing with entrepreneurship and 118,000 focused on small business.

College Courses: In 1985, there were about 250 entrepreneurship courses offered across all colleges in the United States. Today, more than 5,000 entrepreneurship courses are offered in two-year and four-year colleges and universities in the United States.