[MUSIC] Welcome back.

My name is Andrew Isaacs,

faculty director for this program. I'll share a few thoughts leading into
Professor Coopersmith's lecture on entrepreneurship and innovation. The word
entrepreneurship and
the concepts around entrepreneurship are all going to be defined clearly
in the lecture that follows. And I want to share, also, this particular
thought regarding entrepreneurship, not necessarily a new one, but
fundamental to understanding what entrepreneurship is and
who entrepreneurs are. An entrepreneur is anyone who takes
on a task without having all of the resources necessary to accomplish
that task available at the outset. From that simple headwaters definition flows the
entire field
of entrepreneurship. What kind of people would take
on a task without having all the resources they need at hand
in order to accomplish that task? What sorts of enterprises lend
themselves to being created in this way? What sort of investors
would look to somebody who is crazy enough to take on a task
without having all of the resources required to accomplish that task,
available at the outset? Fundamentally, that's the definition,
the headwaters definition, that everything else flows from
regarding entrepreneurship, and the core attribute isn't
entrepreneurship itself. It's the people themselves
who act as entrepreneurs, maybe without even giving
themselves that label, but who demonstrate entrepreneurial behavior,
meaning they take on a task without having all the resources they
need in order to accomplish that task. Now, you'll see that thread run through
the entire lecture that follows. And I hope you'll think about as you watch
this course that Professor Coopersmith teaches, think about who you know who
has these kinds of characteristics. And reflect on whether you feel for
yourself that these characteristics resonate or seem maybe like something
that you're a little uncomfortable with. I hope you'll enjoy this lecture.