ENTREPRENEUR

A person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit.

An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the
rewards. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and
business/or procedures.
Evolution of entrepreneurship

EARLY PERIOD: The earliest definition of the entrepreneur as a go-between is Marco Polo. He tried to establish
trade route to the Far East. He used to sign a contract with a venture capitalist to sell his goods. The capitalist was
the risk bearer. The merchant adventurer took the role of trading. After his successful selling of goods and
completing his trips, the profits were shared by the capitalist and the merchant.

MIDDLE AGES: The term entrepreneur was referred to a person who was managing large projects. He was not
taking any risk but was managing the projects using the resources provided. An example is the cleric who is in
charge of great architectural works such as castles, public buildings, cathedrals etc.
17th CENTURY: An entrepreneur was a person who entered into a contractual arrangement with the Govt. to
perform a service or to supply some goods. The profit was taken (or loss was borne) by the entrepreneur.
18th CENTURY: It was Richard Cantillon, French Economist, who applied the term entrepreneur to business for
the first time. He is regarded by some as the founder of the term. He defined an entrepreneur as a person who buys
factor services at certain prices with a view to sell them at uncertain prices in the future.
19th CENTURY: The entrepreneurs were not distinguished from managers. They were viewed mostly from the
economic perspective. He takes risk, contributes his own initiative and skills. He plans, organizes and leads his
enterprise.
20th CENTURY: During the early 20th century Dewing equated the entrepreneur with business promoter and
viewed the promoter as one who transformed ideas into a profitable business. It was Joseph Schumpeter who
described an entrepreneur as an innovator. According to him an entrepreneur is an innovator who develops untried
technology.
21th CENTURY: Research Scientists live De Bone pointed out that it is not always important that an individual
comes up with an entirely new idea to be called an entrepreneur, but if he is adding incremental value to the current
product or service, he can rightly be called an entrepreneur.

Nature of Entrepreneurship
Creation of Enterprise

Entrepreneurship is a process that refers to the creation and running of a new enterprise. It is an activity under
which a person called an entrepreneur starts a new venture using a new idea.

Economic Activity

Entrepreneurship is an economic activity as it involves creating and running a new business through optimum
utilization of all combined resources. It ensures that all scarce resources are efficiently used for deriving better
returns in the form of profit. 

Innovation and Creativity

It is the process of discovering new ideas and concepts and implementing them in business ventures.
Entrepreneurship involves bringing innovation in the market by introducing new products or process that delivers
better service.
Risk Bearing

It is an activity which involves huge risk which every entrepreneur needs to undertake for starting a venture. New
ideas developed and implemented by the entrepreneur are uncertain and may result in losses.

Profit

Profit earning is the sole objective of an entrepreneur for undertaking risk. Entrepreneurs start a new venture with a
view to earning profits.

Gap Filling

Entrepreneurship is a process of recognizing and filling the gap between customer needs and available products or
services. It focuses on removing the deficiencies from the currently available products to fulfill the needs of
customers.

Organizing Function

It is an organizing function that brings together different factors of production like land, labor, and capital.
Entrepreneurship is concerned with coordinating and managing all resources engaged within the enterprise.

Importance of Entrepreneurship
Development of managerial capabilities

1. Self -Contentment: Entrepreneurs have a high commitment towards their goals and they have the caliber to take
charge of the situation. It gives opportunity to an individual to contribute towards social goods by his Innovative
ways.
2. Financial benefits and secured life: There is immense probability of gaining financial through better products.
Entrepreneurial rewards may surpass the benefits of some of the best paid jobs.
3. Social acceptance and recognition: it gives prestige and status to the individual and inspire other innovative minds
to take initiatives.

Creation of Organisations

Entrepreneurship results into creation of organizations when entrepreneurs assemble and coordinate physical,
human and financial resources and direct them towards achievement of objectives through managerial skills.

Improving Standards of Living

By creating productive organizations, entrepreneurship helps in making a wide variety of goods and services
available to the society which results into higher standards of living for the people. Possession of Luxury cars,
computers, mobile phone, rapid growth of shopping malls, etc. are pointers to the rising living standards of people,
and all this in due to the efforts of entrepreneurs.

Means of Economic Development:

Entrepreneurship involves creation and use of innovative ideas, maximization of output from given resources,
development of managerial skills, etc, and all these factors are very essential for the economic development of a
country. It achieves following:

1. Job Creation: Increased production activities require additional workforce at all levels of management and for all
different streams. Creation of job is a strong indicator of sustainable economic growth.
2. Self-reliant economy: Small businesses help individuals to grow financially independent. This in turn lends to the
development of a resurgent middle class and a self-reliant economy.
3. Export Promotion: Entrepreneurs can attempt to penetrate new markets and establish themselves as global
brands.
CHARACTERISTICS OF ENTREPRENEURS

People may lack the personality and skills necessary for successful entrepreneurship. There are some general
characteristics and skills that many successful entrepreneurs have:

Problem-solving: Entrepreneurs often start their businesses after identifying a problem and then coming up
with a way to address it. Entrepreneurs are also able to figure out how to solve problems that will occur
during the development of the business.

Innovation: Entrepreneurs are innovators, and are often engaged continuously in the process of conceiving
new products and services, renewing and improving current offerings, and developing new business
processes.

Risk-taking: Entrepreneurs are not risk-averse. They are willing to risk their time, money and even their
reputation to get the business started and take their products or services to market. Entrepreneurs are also
willing to take risks even after they establish a business, developing new products and approaches that can
grow their businesses.

Contrariness: Entrepreneurs are often people who are eager to question why and how things are being done
– even if these processes are clearly "industry-standard." This doesn't mean an entrepreneur should ignore
industry best practices, but the entrepreneur is also willing to challenge these practices if she believes that
there is a better way to do them.

Persistence: Entrepreneurs are persistent. They aren't easily discouraged and are willing to work through
discouragement and challenges. Entrepreneurs are willing to attend trade shows, meet with bankers, call on
clients and do what it takes to get the business started, and then to make it successful.

Leadership: Successful entrepreneurs are strong leaders. Leadership is an essential entrepreneurial skill, as
the entrepreneur will need to be able to cultivate trust and support from the people who join his business as
managers and workers. Many new businesses are cash-poor and experience significant challenges – but a
good leader can inspire loyalty in workers who may not yet be receiving high wages, as well as in employees
who are facing roadblocks in their efforts to build the company.

FUNCTIONS OF ENTREPRENEUR

The following points highlight the top five functions of an entrepreneur. The functions are:

 Decision Making
 Management Control
 Division of Income
 Risk-Taking and Uncertainty-Bearing
 Innovation.

1. Decision Making:

The primary task of an entrepreneur is to decide the policy of production. An entrepreneur is to determine
what to produce, how much to produce, how to produce, where to produce, how to sell and so forth. Moreover,
he is to decide the scale of production and the proportion in which he combines the different factors he
employs. In brief, he is to make vital business decisions relating to the purchase of productive factors and to
the sale of the finished goods or services.

2. Management Control:

Earlier writers used to consider the management control one of the chief functions of the entrepreneur.
Management and control of the business are conducted by the entrepreneur himself. So, the latter must possess
a high degree of management ability to select the right type of persons to work with him. But, the importance
of this function has declined, as business nowadays is managed more and more by paid managersq .

3. Division of Income:

The next major function of the entrepreneur is to make necessary arrangement for the division of total income
among the different factors of production employed by him. Even if there is a loss in the business, he is to pay
rent, interest, wages and other contractual incomes out of the realised sale proceeds.

4. Risk-Taking and Uncertainty-Bearing:

Risk-taking is perhaps the most important function of an entrepreneur. Modern production is very risky as an
entrepreneur is required to produce goods or services in antici•pation of their future demand.

Broadly, there are two kinds of risk which he has to face. Firstly, there are some risks, such as risks of fire,
loss of goods in transit, theft, etc., which can be insured against. These are known as measurable and insurable
 risks. Secondly, some risks, however, cannot be insured against because their probability cannot be calculated
accurately. These constitute what is called uncertainty (e.g., competitive risk, technical risk, etc.). The
entrepreneur undertakes both these risks in production.

5. Innovation:

Another distinguishing function of the entrepreneur, as emphasised by Schumpeter, is to make frequent

inventions — invention of new products, new techniques and discovering new markets — to improve his
competitive position, and to increase earnings.

CLASSIFICATION OF ENTREPRENEURS
I. According to the Type of Business
Entrepreneurs are found in various types of business coronations of varying size. We may broadly classify
them as follows:
Business Entrepreneur:
Business entrepreneurs are individuals who conceive an idea for a new product or service and-then creates a
business to materialize their idea into reality. They tap both production and marketing’ resources in their search to
develop a new business opportunity. They may set up a .big establishment or a small business unit. They are called
small business entrepreneurs when found in small business units such as printing press, textile processing house,
advertising agency; readymade garments, or confectionery. In a majority of cases, entrepreneurs are found in small
trading and manufacturing business and entrepreneurship flourishes when the size of the business is small.
Trading Entrepreneur:
Trading entrepreneur is one who undertakes trading activities and is not concerned with the manufacturing
work. He identifies potential markets, stimulates demand for his product line and creates a desire and interest
among buyers to go in for his product. He is engaged in both domestic and overseas trade. Britain, due to
geographical limitations, has developed trade through trading entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs demonstrate their
ability in pushing many ideas ahead to promote their business.
Industrial Entrepreneur:
Industrial entrepreneur is essentially a manufacturer, who identifies the potential needs of customers and
tailors a product or service to meet the marketing needs. He is a product-oriented man who starts in an industrial
unit because of the possibility of making some new product. The entrepreneur has the ability to convert economic
resources and technology into a considerably profitable venture. He is found in industrial units as the electronic
industry, textile units, machine tools or videocassette tape factory and the like.
Corporate Entrepreneur:
Corporate entrepreneur is a person .who demonstrates his innovative skill in organizing and managing corporate
undertaking. A corporate undertaking is a form of business’ organization, which is registered under some statute or
Act, which gives it a separate legal entity. A trust registered under the Trust Act, or companies registered under the
Companies Act are example of corporate undertakings. A corporate entrepreneur is thus an individual who plans,
develops and manages a corporate body.
Agricultural Entrepreneur:
Agricultural entrepreneurs are those entrepreneurs who undertake agricultural activities as raising and
marketing of crops, fertilisers and other inputs of agriculture. They are motivated to raise agriculture through
mechanization, irrigation and application of technologies for dry land agriculture products. They cover a broad
spectrum of the agricultural sector and include its allied occupations.
II. According to the Technology use
The application of new technology in various succors of the national economy is essential for the future
growth of business. We may broadly classify these. entrepreneurs on the basis of the use of technology as follows:
Technical Entrepreneur:
A technical entrepreneur is essentially compared to a “craftsman.” He develops improved quality of goods
because of his craftsmanship. He concentrates more on production than marketing. On not much sales generation
by and does not do various sales promotional techniques. He demonstrates his innovative capabilities in matter of
production of goods and rendering of services. The greatest strength, which the technical entrepreneur has, is his
skill in production techniques.
Non-technical Entrepreneur:
Non-technical entrepreneurs are those who are not concerned with the technical aspects of the product in
which they deal. They are concerned only with developing alternative marketing and distribution strategies to
promote their business.
Professional Entrepreneur:
Professional entrepreneur is a person who is interested in establishing a business, but does not have interest
in managing or operating it once it is established. A professional entrepreneur sells out the running business and
starts another venture with the sales proceeds. Such an entrepreneur is dynamic and he conceives new ideas to
develop alternative projects.
III. According to the Entrepreneur and Motivation
Motivation is the force that influences the efforts of the entrepreneur to achieve his objectives. An
entrepreneur is motivated to achieve or prove his excellence in job performance. He is also motivated to influence
others by demonstrating his business acumen.
Pure Entrepreneur
A pure entrepreneur is an individual who is motivated by psychological and economic rewards. He
undertakes an entrepreneurial activity for his personal satisfaction in work, ego or status.
Induced Entrepreneur
Induced entrepreneur is one who is induced to take up an entrepreneurial task due to the policy measures of
the government that provides assistance, Incentives, concessions and necessary overhead, facilities to start a
venture. Most of the induced entrepreneurs enter business due to financial, technical and several other facilities
provided to them by the state agencies to promote entrepreneurship. A person with a sound project is provided
package assistance to his project. Today, import restriction and allocation to production quotas to mall units have
induced many people to start a small-scale industry.
Motivated Entrepreneur
New entrepreneurs are motivated by the desire for self-fulfillment. They come into being because of the
possibility of making and marketing some new product for the use of consumers. If the product is developed to a
saleable stage, the entrepreneur is further motivated by reward in terms of profit.
Spontaneous Entrepreneur
These entrepreneurs start their business their by Entrepreneur. They are persons with initiative, boldness
and confidence in their_- ability, which activate, them, underage entrepreneurial activity. Such entrepreneurs have
a strong conviction and confidence in their inborn ability.
IV. According to the Growth and Entrepreneurs
The development of a new venture has a greater chance of success. The entrepreneurs a new and open field
of business. The customer’s approval to the new product gives them psychological satisfaction and enormous
profit. The industrial units are identified as units of high growth, medium growth and low growth industries and as
such we have “Growth Entrepreneur” and “Super-Growth Entrepreneur.”
Growth Entrepreneur:
Growth entrepreneurs are those who necessarily take up a high growth industry, which has substantial
growth prospects.
Super-Growth Entrepreneur:
Super-growth entrepreneurs are those who have shown enormous growth of performance in their venture.
The growth performance is identified by the liquidity of funds, profitability and gearing.
V. According to the Entrepreneur and Stages of Development
Entrepreneurs may also be classified as the first generation entrepreneur, modern entrepreneur and classical
entrepreneur depending upon the stage of development.
They are explained below:
First-Generation Entrepreneur:
A first-generation entrepreneur is one who starts an. industrial unit by innovative skill. He is essentially an
innovator, combining different technologies to produce a marketable product or service. .
Modern Entrepreneur:
A modern entrepreneur is one who undertakes those ventures, which go well along with the changing
demand in the market. They undertake those ventures, which suit the current marketing needs.
Classical Entrepreneur:
A classical entrepreneur is one who is concerned with the customers and marketing needs through the
development of a self-supporting venture. He is a stereotype entrepreneur whose aim is to maximise his economic
returns at a level consistent with the survival of the firm with or without an element of growth.
VI. Others
 Innovating entrepreneurship is characterized by aggressive assemblage in information and analysis of
results, deriving from a novel combination of factors. Men / women in this group

are generally aggressive in experimentation who exhibit cleverness in putting attractive possibilities
into practice. One need not invent but convert even old established products or services by changing
their utility, their value, and their economic characteristics into something new, attractive and
utilitarian. Therein lies the key to their phenomenal success. Such an entrepreneur is one who sees the
opportunity for introducing a new technique of production process or a new commodity or a new
market or a new service or even the reorganization of an existing enterprise.
What are entrepreneurial traits? 

Entrepreneurial traits are the typical characteristics, abilities and thought patterns associated with successful
entrepreneurs. While some entrepreneurs are born with these traits, others can develop them. These include:

1. Being a good leader

2. Being optimistic 
3. Being confident
4. Being passionate 
5. Being disciplined
6. Being proactive
7. Keeping an open mind
8. Being competitive
9. Being kind

1. Being a good leader

An entrepreneur is expected to manage a business and most professionals in this position are responsible for its
start-up as well. Typically, entrepreneurship involves finding and building relationships with investors, overseeing
employees and monitoring operations. To perform these activities well, you need to be an effective leader. 

Leadership is the ability to lead others. An effective leader mobilizes people to achieve goals and is perceived as a
leader by their followers. There are ways in which you can cultivate this trait, such as: 

Learning from your experiences

While it is normal to make mistakes when managing a team, you can identify the pros and cons of your leadership
style while you work and use your findings to improve how you lead others. 

Researching the different leadership styles

For example, the democratic style of leadership, which involves more collaboration between leaders and followers
in the process of decision making, can be effective during the initial stage of setting up a business. It can give an
employer better insights for decision making when hiring a large staff of experts is not possible. 

Learning about the leaders in your industry

You can learn how industry leaders manage their key stakeholders and use the leadership tactics that work for your
own business. 

Developing an approach to leadership that works for you

By considering new styles of leadership and evaluating your leadership style, you can find a leadership style that
suits you and your business. 
2. Being optimistic

Optimism can be described as focusing on the positives and being emotionally resilient to the negatives. An
entrepreneur who organizes, manages and operates a business is likely to face many setbacks over time. For
example, as you start your business, you will need to complete a lot of paperwork concerning licenses, tax forms,
business plans and bank accounts. In the process of getting these documents ready, there could be many issues that
check your progress, such as delays in getting a license or structural issues in your business plan.

Being optimistic can help you to overcome these problems quickly instead of becoming demotivated by them. Like
the other important entrepreneurial traits, optimism is a quality that you will need to develop and maintain in your
career. There are ways in which you can cultivate optimism, such as:

 Surrounding yourself with optimism by hiring optimistic workers, including inspirational quotes into your
interior design or listening to upbeat music

 Developing an optimistic outlook that influences the way you do things in your business and impacts your
decision-making process

 Starting to look at everyday events as business opportunities

 Identifying the positives in a problematic situation and focusing on them while you troubleshoot

 Finding a career coach who can help you to develop your optimism

 Catching yourself being negative and reframing your mindset. For example, you can start looking at issues
that check your progress as learning experiences that can prepare you for greater success in the future.

3. Being confident

Confidence is a subjective belief that you have what is needed for something. Entrepreneurs ask banks for loans,
hire workers, motivate teams and build relationships with clients and suppliers, so it is important for an
entrepreneur to be confident in their ability to do all these things well. 

Being confident can help your business. Key stakeholders are more likely to respond favorably to your proposals if
you project your confidence. You can use several tactics to become more confident, such as: 

 Cultivate a belief in yourself and your abilities. Make a list of your successes and remind yourself of them
in times of doubt. For example, remind yourself that you are producing something that people want to buy
or remind yourself of the things that you have already done to make your business more profitable. 

 Plan and perform your daily activities with the mindset that you will successfully complete them even if
there are setbacks.  

 Research how confidence can be communicated through body language and verbal communication and use
these techniques to improve how you project yourself.

 Role-play situations such as negotiations with key suppliers or discussions with investors by practicing your
message delivery, learning to answer typical questions and handling feedback professionally. 

 Hire a career coach who can help you to develop your confidence. 

 Spend time with friends who have a positive impact on the way that you feel about yourself.  These social
experiences can amp up your confidence.

 Learn new hard and soft skills to improve your work performance. This will help you become more self-
assured at work.
  Make changes that can improve your appearance such as dressing well, exercising regularly and eating
healthily to boost your confidence. 

4. Being passionate

Being passionate about building and running your business can make it easier to put in the effort needed for a
successful enterprise. If you need to boost your professional passion, consider these tips: 

 Try to think of your job as more than just a livelihood and cultivate a genuine love for what you do. You
can remind yourself of why you decided to start your own business or think of the positive impacts that
your business has on yourself, your employees, your clients or your community. 

 Start each business day by reminding yourself of all the things that you look forward to doing such as
closing a deal or hiring a new employee. 

 Learn how to communicate your passion when you engage with employees, suppliers or investors. Your
enthusiasm for what you do can make your major stakeholders feel more enthusiastic too, which could help
your business.

5. Being disciplined  

Being disciplined can help you to achieve success as an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are expected to work
independently, set their own goals and overcome setbacks. To do these things well, being disciplined is essential.
You can use the following advice to become more disciplined: 

 Train yourself to be a self-starter who initiates and completes tasks without the need for oversight. 

 Give yourself a small reward each time you meet a goal. This will motivate you to reach your targets
without getting distracted.

 Develop a work ethic that fuels your determination to work hard to achieve your professional goals. Keep
in mind that many entrepreneurs who have built successful startups have spent more time at work than most
of their employees.  

6. Being proactive

A proactive person anticipates opportunities and threats and tries to address them while a reactive person simply
reacts to situations. As an entrepreneur, it is always better to be proactive instead of being reactive. Here are some
ways in which you can become more proactive:

 Combine research with active listening to understand the needs of key stakeholders (your customers,
employers and business partners). 

 Identify threats in events and develop solutions before these issues become more severe.  

 Analyze your business operations regularly. Identify the areas that can be improved and improve these
areas. 

 Try to develop long-term solutions to address the main causes of issues instead of developing short-term
solutions that are ineffective.

 Use verbal and written communication to show employees that you welcome their feedback. This will help
you to identify areas that need to be improved or policies that need to be explained more clearly to
workers. 
7. Keeping an open mind

Keeping an open mind involves the willingness to listen to the opinions and ideas of others. Typically,
entrepreneurs start businesses in competitive industries that have already established market leaders. To succeed in
this position, it is necessary to see business opportunities in everyday events and look for ways to improve business
offerings. Consider the following tips to develop this trait: 

 Be willing to listen to others instead of refusing to accept that someone else could have a valuable opinion.
This can increase your pool of ideas and insights. 

 Encourage coworkers or customers to provide feedback and consider their opinions to make a product or
service better. 

 Use new ideas or insights about workflows, customer service or employee engagement to improve a
product or service offering. 

8. Being competitive

Competitiveness is a key trait among successful entrepreneurs. With globalization and virtualization, industries are
growing more competitive. To maintain a lucrative business, it is essential to develop a competitive attitude.
Consider the following advice to develop your competitiveness: 

 Keep track of what your competitors are doing with market research and market-monitoring services, and
ensure that you do not fall behind in terms of development. 

 Identify the business tactics that work for your competitors as well as the ones that do not work, and use
these tactics to improve your business. 

 Use product improvements, pricing, marketing and distribution to make your products more competitive in
the market. For example, you can price a new product in a market with several established brands at a
relatively low price and invest in creative advertising to motivate customers to switch brands and try your
product. 

 Develop customer analyses and use your findings to keep improving your products or services by making
them more adapted to customer needs. 

 Use employee analyses to develop incentives such as benefits, severance packages and performance-based
rewards to attract the best talent to your team. 

9. Being kind

While kindness is not usually considered an important trait in entrepreneurs, it can help you in maintaining success.
For example, while it is easy to focus on meeting your KPIs on sales, failing to consider the well-being of your
employees or overlooking the impact that a production process has on your community could cause you problems
over time or allow your competitors to gain an advantage. You can use the following tips to develop kindness: 

 Assess the working conditions of your full-time employees regularly and ensure that they have the basics
they need to perform well.

 Reevaluate your employee benefits periodically to make sure that you are providing a package that can
actually help workers as well as attract the best talent. 

 Be proactive in improving your manufacturing or distribution processes to make them less damaging to the
environment and more sustainable. 

 Foster a supportive, healthy company culture through strong policies that discourage bullying, sexual
harassment or gender-based discrimination.
 WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Women entrepreneurship is the process in which women initiate a business, gather all resources, undertake
risks, face challenges, provides employment to others and manages the business independently. Women
Entrepreneurship refers to business or organization started by a woman or group of women.

Problems of Women Entrepreneurs

basic problem of a woman entrepreneur is that she is a woman. Women entrepreneurs face two sets of problems
specific to women entrepreneurs. These are summarized as follows.

 Shortage of Finance: Women and small entrepreneurs always suffer from inadequate fixed and working
capital. Owing to lack of confidence in women’s ability, male members in the family do not like to risk their
capital in ventures run by women. Banks have also taken negative attitude while lending to women
entrepreneurs. Thus women entrepreneurs rely often on personal saving and loans from family and friends.

 Shortage of Raw Material: Women entrepreneurs find it difficult to procure material and other necessary
inputs. The prices of many raw materials are quite high.

 Inadequate Marketing Facilities: Most of the women entrepreneurs depend on intermediaries for marketing
their products. It is very difficult for the women entrepreneurs to explore the market and to make their product
popular. For women, market is a ‘chakravyuh’.

 Keen Competition: Women entrepreneurs face tough competition from male entrepreneurs and also from
organized industries. They cannot afford to spend large sums of advertisement.

 High Cost of Production: High prices of material, low productivity. Under utilisation of capacity etc. account
for high cost of production. The government assistance and subsidies would not be sufficient for the survival.

 Family Responsibilities: Management of family may be more complicated than the management of the
business. Hence she cannot put her full involvement in the business . Occupational backgrounds of the family
and education level of husband has a direct impact on the development of women entrepreneurship.

 Low Mobility: One of the biggest handicaps for women entrepreneur is her inability to travel from one place to
another for business purposes. A single women asking for room is looked upon with suspicion. Sometimes
licensing authorities, labour officials and sales tax officials may harass them.

 Lack of Education: About 60% of women are still illiterate in India. There exists a belief that investing in
woman’s education is a liability, not an asset. Lack of knowledge and experience creates further problems in the
setting up and operation of business.

 Low Capacity to Bear Risks: Women lead a protected life dominated by the family members. She is not
economically independent. She may not have confidence to bear the risk alone. If she cannot bear risks, she can
never be an entrepreneur.

 Social Attitudes: Women do not get equal treatment in a male-dominated society. Wherever she goes, she faces
discrimination. The male ego stands in the way of success of women entrepreneurs. Thus, the rigid social
attitudes prevent a woman from becoming a successful entrepreneur.

 Low Need for Achievement: Generally, a woman will not have strong need for achievement. Every women
suffers from the painful feeling that she is forced to depend on others in her life. Her preconceived notions
 about her role in life inhibit achievement and independence.

 Lack of Training: A women entrepreneur from middle class starts her first entrepreneurial venture in her late
thirties or early forties due to her commitments towards children. Her biggest problem is the lack of sufficient
business training.

Lack of Information: Women entrepreneurs sometimes are not aware of technological developments and other
information on subsidies and concessions available to them. They may not know how to get loans, industrial
estates, raw materials, etc.

COMPARISON BETWEEN ENTREPRENEUR VS MANAGER

BASIS FOR ENTREPRENEUR MANAGER

COMPARISON
Meaning Entrepreneur refers to a person who Manager is an individual who
creates an enterprise, by taking takes the responsibility of
financial risk in order to get profit. controlling and administering
the organization.
Focus Business start-up On-going operations
Primary Achievement Power
motivation
Approach to task Informal Formal
Status Owner Employee
Reward Profit Salary
Decision making Intuitive Calculative
Driving force Creativity and Innovation Preserving status quo
Risk orientation Risk taker Risk averse
What is Entrepreneurial Culture
1. It can be defined as the values, beliefs, attitudes and behavior of individuals within a society. These factors
facilitate or obstruct the creation and management of enterprises and can be considered as the basic of a
socio-cultural environment.
2. An entrepreneurial culture is an environment where someone is motivated to innovate,
create and take risks. In a business, an entrepreneurial culture means that employees are
encouraged to brainstorm new ideas or products. When work time is dedicated to these activities,
it is called intrapreneurship.
Elements of Entrepreneurial Culture

• People and empowerment focused

• Value creation through innovation and change

• Attention to the basics

• Hands-on management

• Doing the right thing

• Freedom to grow and to fail

• Commitment and personal responsibility

• Emphasis on the future

10 Entrepreneurs Who Changed An Industry Forever

From technology to cosmetics, a lot has changed over the years, or should I say has improved
our way of living. You might have heard from your elders on how they have dealt with life in the
past. All of this changed when technology emerged and since then, everything has improved.

The people who made it all possible are called entrepreneurs and they are the people who are not
afraid to take risks to create a business or enterprise. Entrepreneurs are considered as agents of
change and they engage themselves in disrupting industries.

Here are 10 entrepreneurs who changed an industry forever:

1. Steve Jobs – Technology

We all know who Steve Jobs is, he is often times even considered the father of technology for
what he has contributed to the Tech Industry. When he was just a young man without direction in
life, he and his friend, Wozniak, launched the Apple computer. They financed their
entrepreneurial venture by selling their assets, such as Jobs’ Volkswagen bus and Wozniak’s
scientific calculator. They started their business in the garage of Steve Jobs’ house.

The duo started to revolutionize the computer industry by releasing their first Apple computer.
Their computer machine was smaller, cheaper and could be accessed by the consumers easily.
They also promised an intuitive product that can make a difference to anyone’s life. This is how
they started democratizing the technology. Nowadays, Apple has developed more types of
technology within our reach and has dictated the evolution of modern technology.

2. Mark Zuckerberg – Social Media

Mark Zuckerberg started his fascination with computers and programs at an early age. At a very
young age, he developed his own messaging program which was used by his father in his clinic
and by the whole family. He also developed computer games that he and his friends played and
was considered a prodigy in his pre-teen days. When he studied at Harvard University, he
developed a program to match the course selections of students to others, and during this time, he
also invented Facemash, a program that compared two students, but was later on shut down by
the school administration.
During his time at Harvard, some of his fellow classmates sought his help to develop a dating
site for the Harvard elite, but later on, he dropped out of school to work on his own social
networking site. This was named as The Facebook, where a person could make their own profile,
upload photos and communicate with other users. A lot of investors and companies have
invested in Zuckerberg’s “Facebook”. Now, Facebook is one of the most popular social media
networks. It helps connect people from anywhere around the globe and helps advertisers reach
consumers with ease.

3. Bill Gates – Software Industry

Bill Gates has shown interest in computers at a very young age, together with his friend, Paul
Allen, who at the time was two years his senior. When Gates was studying at Harvard, Allen
showed him an article about Altair 8800 mini-computer kit; they contacted the company and
proclaimed that they can run the Altair computer with the BASIC software they are working on.
The company became interested and asked them to demonstrate to them their software. They
developed the software in Harvard’s computer lab and Allen demonstrated the software without
even trying if it works on an Altair computer, which luckily ended up working.

They named the software Micro-Soft, later on dropping the hyphen and known today as
Microsoft. Microsoft and Gates went through a lot of struggles to lead Microsoft as one of the
top software companies in the world. Nowadays, Microsoft is one of the most popular software
systems used around the globe and most computers are ran on Microsoft Windows.

4. Jeff Bezos – E-Commerce

Like all other kids, Jeff Bezos was fascinated with how things worked and grew interested into
computers when his family transferred to Miami. He continued his interest in computers when he
studied Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at Princeton University. He worked at
several firms on Wall street and became the youngest vice president for D.E Shaw investment
firm, but he did what others think is crazy, he quit his job to venture into internet marketing by
selling books online.

He developed a software where he could sell his books and he named it Amazon.com. The test
was successful, and the launch was a hit as they began reaching foreign countries selling books.
Today, after the ups and downs the company and Bezos has experienced, Amazon is still
successful and they have have diversified their products. They offer a different array of products
that people would want to purchase, ranging from clothes, electronics, toys and many others.
Amazon has become an easy way to shop for those who do not want to go out and have ever
since offered the easiest and fastest way to shop online.

5. Larry Page and Sergey Brin – Internet Search Engine

Although the two came from different countries, they shared a common goal, to develop a dot-
com business based on their own terms and not because they have been dictated by the prevailing
business culture. They started by arguing with each other when they were both studying for their
Ph.D. degree, but soon found themselves having a common fascination and later working
together on a research project. Their goal at the time was to develop a search tool that when you
input a word or a phrase, the first link to appear is the most relevant one to the subject.

They developed their search tool, without compromising their Ph.D. studies and slowly worked
on their project. When they have released their search tool, they became successful in their aim
to show the most relevant web pages associated, and they tried licensing their technology.
However, no company was interested, and the founder of Yahoo.com suggested that they form a
search engine company, and Google was born. Now, the word Google is very common in any
household. If you are looking for something, people will say, “Just Google it”.

6. Richard Branson – Music 

Richard Branson always had the desire to become an entrepreneur, just like his mother who was
also an entrepreneur. He struggled in school and when he was 16, he dropped out of school and
started running a magazine called The Student. In his magazines, he would interview prominent
personalities and advertise records which instantly became a success. He changed the name to
“Virgin” and sold records at a lower price compared to other outlets. It started the Virgin
Records label where he ended up build ing a recording studio and his first artist was Mike
Oldfield.

He continued to expand his business through his entrepreneurial efforts and created a travel
company. Later on, he launched the Virgin Atlantic Airline, and some series of Megastores. He
experienced financial struggles and was forced to sell his company, but he remained focused and
started again. Now, his Virgin Group has over 400 companies under its control and is still
continuing to expand.

7. John D. Rockefeller – Oil and Gas

John Rockefeller was a businessman who worked as a commission merchant. He studied the
opportunity of growing an oil business during his time and he decided to establish an oil refinery.
He named it the Standard Oil Company, and it instantly became a success. After the success, he
expanded his business by buying out his competitors’ oil refineries.

With his move, it led to an American monopoly. Rockefeller was credited with helping shape
America as to what it is today and is also considered as one of America’s pioneering
businessman.

 8. Ray Kroc – Fast Food  

Ray Kroc participated in the World War I as a Red Cross ambulance driver and worked as a
salesman after the war. One of his clients was the McDonalds brand, and the brothers purchased
some of his products and he offered to work as a franchising agent for them. He, later on,
eclipsed the brothers and became the president of McDonald’s Corporation.

He bought out the owners and was able to surpass its competitor, Burger King. He retained some
of the original employees while continuing to incorporate new elements. Today, McDonald’s is
one of the most successful fast food chains around the world, serving burgers and fries to
millions on a regular basis.

9. J.K. Rowling – Fantasy Novels 

One of the most recognized authors of today’s generation is J.K. Rowling, the author of the book
series “Harry Potter.” She experienced struggles when she was divorced and left alone with her
daughter. She struggled to support herself and her daughter when they were both living on
welfare for numerous years. She also thought of committing suicide, but later on realized that it’s
wasn’t the solution to her problems as she diverted her energy into the thing she enjoyed most –
writing.

She had an idea of the story she wanted to write and she tried to sell it to publishers but received
numerous rejections. When it finally was bought and published, it became a hit in every country.
After selling the first three books, it also earned a movie deal and added to her earnings. Her
books and the story of Harry Potter is now embedded in the minds of millions of adolescents
everywhere who have read and watched the entire series.

10. Mary Kay Ash – Cosmetics

In the world of cosmetics, Mary Kay is a reputable brand that women use constantly and she has
also helped the women’s empowerment movement. When Ash worked as a salesperson in a
company, she worked diligently, but the company promoted the man, whom she trained, above
her and was earning a higher salary than her. She quit her job and started her own business by
formulating her own cosmetic products.

Mary Kay, Inc. was born, and this helped women achieve financial success. Today, Mary Kay,
Inc. helps women to become more beautiful by using their cutting edge cosmetics products. It
also stands as living proof that women can achieve massive success by pursuing their dreams as
well.

Top 10 Indian Entrepreneurs

1. Dhirubhai Ambani

Dhirubhai Ambani (1932–2002) is an Indian businessman who started out humbly by selling
traditional snacks to religious pilgrims. His business soon grew, and he expanded and diversified
into industries including telecommunications, power generation, information technology,
consumer goods, and logistics.1

Today, Reliance Industries is India's largest private company and is listed on the Fortune 500.2
Ambani's son now runs Reliance and is one of India's wealthiest people; Mukesh Ambani, 64,
is worth over $71 billion, according to Forbes.3

2. Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata

Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata or JRD Tata (1904–1993) was born in Paris to Indian and
French parents. He was trained as an aviator in Europe and later became India's first commercial
airline pilot. Working for the family business, TATA group, he set out on his own and built
TATA Airlines, which ultimately became the modern Air India.4

By the time of JRD Tata's death, TATA owned nearly 100 different businesses across many
industries.5 Notably, his automobile venture, Tata Motors (TTM), produces economical
automobiles that nearly all working Indians can afford to own.6 JRD Tata is descended from
Jamsetji Tata who founded the TATA group of companies in the mid-1800s.7

3. Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy

Nagavara Ramarao Narayana Murthy, age 73, is an Indian entrepreneur who co-founded IT giant
Infosys (INFY) with an initial investment of 10,000 rupees, or just a few hundred dollars in
today's terms.8

With a net worth of $4 billion, he is often referred to as the father of the Indian IT industry,
serving as CEO of Infosys from 1981 until 2002, and then its chair until 2011.9 As of July 2021,
Infosys has a market capitalization of around $90 billion.10

4. Shiv Nadar

Shiv Nadar, 75, founded HCL Infosystems in 1976 with an investment of a few thousand dollars,
selling calculators and microcomputers. HCL soon expanded to Singapore and the Far East,
generating over 1 million rupees in sales not long after its expansion. HCL has continued to
grow, making Nadar a billionaire worth over $23.8 billion.11
5. Lakshmi Niwas Mittal

Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, 70, is an Indian entrepreneur who began his career working for his
father's steel business. He later set out on his own, due to family infighting and created what is
now one of the largest steelmakers in the world, ArcelorMittal (MT). As of April 2020,
ArcelorMittal has a market capitalization of $32.96 billion.12 Mittal himself is worth nearly
$18.38 billion.13

6. Ghanshyam Das Birla

Ghanshyam Das Birla (1894-1983) is a well-known Indian businessman who started his first
company in the early 1900s operating a cotton and textile mill. By 1919, Birla's businesses also
included significant paper and sugar production. By the time he died, Birla Group was a multi-
sector global conglomerate.

His great-grandson Kumar Mangalam Birla, 52, now runs the company and commands a net
worth of $13.4 billion.14

7. Dilip Shanghvi

Dilip Shanghvi, 65, started Sun Pharmaceuticals in 1982 with a meager 10,000 rupee investment,
or approximately $200. As the son of a pharmaceutical distributor, Shanghvi knew what he was
doing. Today, through gradual development and a series of acquisitions, that investment has
grown to a value of nearly 2 trillion rupees, making Sun India's largest pharmaceutical company.
Today, Shanghvi has a net worth of around $11.8 billion.15

8. Azim Premji

Azim Premji, 74, is worth an estimated $9 billion and is the former chair of Wipro Industries
(WIT), a diversified software and technology company that many have compared to Microsoft.
Premji is sometimes referred to as India's Bill Gates as a result, alongside his informal title as
"czar" of the Indian IT industry.16

9. Mukesh Jagtiani

Mukesh "Micky" Jagtiani, 69, is an Indian-Emirati businessman who has spent most of his life
outside of India. While he was educated in Mumbai and Beirut, he moved to London for
accounting school, before dropping out. Soon, starting his first company while driving a taxi, his
company eventually grew into the retail and real estate giant Landmark, now based out of Dubai.

In recent years, Landmark has even expanded into e-commerce. Jagtiani is worth about $3.6
billion.17
10. Ardeshir Godrej

Ardeshir Godrej (1868-1936) co-founded the Godrej Group, a diversified conglomerate with
interests in real estate, consumer products, security, household appliances, and industrial tools.
The company had modest beginnings—Ardeshir and his brother succeeded at locksmithing after
failed ventures into hand-fashioned medical devices.18 

Godrej Group was founded in 1897, and the Godrej companies have revenues of over $11 billion
today.19 His grandson, Adi Godrej, who runs the company, is worth $2.7 billion.20