Entrepreneurship is the dynamic process of designing, launching, and running a new business venture to create economic or social value while bearing financial risks.
It is described as “… the process of designing, launching, and managing a new business or venture. It typically involves innovation, risk-taking, and the goal of achieving financial and social value. While often associated with startups, entrepreneurship spans a broad range of activities from launching a tech company to founding a nonprofit or transforming internal business units” (ESMT Berlin, 2025).
The Centre for American Entrepreneurship defines it as “…. the process by which individuals or a group of individuals (entrepreneurs) exploit a commercial opportunity, either by bringing a new product or process to the market, or by substantially improving an existing good, service, or method of production. This process is generally organised through a new organisation (a start-up company) but may also occur in an established small business that undergoes a significant change in product or strategy” (Centre for American Entrepreneurship, 2019).
Jean-Baptiste Say and Joseph Schumpeter transformed the entrepreneur from a simple business operator into the core engine of economic value and structural change. Early nineteenth-century French economist Jean-Baptiste Say popularised and refined the word “entrepreneur” to describe a value-creating agent. Say argued that:
- An entrepreneur moves economic resources from areas of lower productivity to areas of higher productivity.
- He saw the entrepreneur as a master coordinator who combines land, labour, and capital.
- Say separated the role of the entrepreneur from that of the passive capitalist, noting that the entrepreneur shoulders the financial judgment and uncertainty inherent in production.
Twentieth-century economist Joseph Schumpeter defined the entrepreneur not just as a manager, but as an active innovator.
- Schumpeter stated that entrepreneurs drive progress by executing new combinations: new products, new production methods, new markets, or new organisational forms.
- He coined this famous term “Creative destruction” to describe how successful innovations make old technologies and industries obsolete, driving long-run economic growth. He was of the view that this creative destruction causes continuous progress and improves the standards of living for everyone.
- Unlike Say’s steady coordinator, Schumpeter’s entrepreneur is a radical, disruptive force who shatters the traditional economic balance to build a dynamic new one.
Another important study which followed this view is the work of Professor Israel Kirzner. He held that alertness to opportunity is the fundamental quality of the entrepreneur. Alertness is defined as the entrepreneur’s ability to perceive new economic opportunities, and this alertness must necessarily precede actions to exploit the opportunities.
Professor Howard Stevenson, formerly the Sarofim-Rock Baker Foundation Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, is another important contributor to the development of entrepreneurship. He stated that “Entrepreneurship is the process by which individuals pursue opportunities without regard to the resources they currently control”. The three keywords in the definition are “pursuit”, “opportunity” and “without regard to resources controlled”.
Pursuit
This refers to the single-minded and relentless focus the entrepreneur displays. Entrepreneurs know that opportunities are short-lived. With limited resources, they have to work urgently to make tangible progress to attract resources. This is not the case in established companies where resources are already available, and opportunities are grouped into portfolios and executed accordingly.
Opportunity
This refers to something novel that can creates one or more of the following values:
- Creation of a truly innovative product.
- Developing a new business model.
- Improving an existing product or service by making it cheaper or better.
- Creating new customers for existing products.
Without regard to resources controlled
This refers to constraints on resources. Most entrepreneurs have limited resources and must bootstrap. They invest their personal resources in the start-up until it becomes operational and begins to generate revenue. In some cases, the founders will have to look for resources beyond their control.
Entrepreneurship and Risks
Many definitions of entrepreneurship are traditionally associated with risk–taking. Entrepreneurs come in many forms, and they are not people who go out looking for risks. People rarely go out looking for risks, unless they’re adrenaline junkies. According to Professor Eisenmann, the risks associated with entrepreneurship result from pursuing novel opportunities without adequate resources. These risks can be divided into four types:
- Demand risk. The risk that there may not be potential customers for the product or service.
- Technology risk. The risk that an engineering or scientific breakthrough is required to establish the product or service.
- Execution risk. The ability to attract staff and partners with the adequate skills to execute the venture.
- Financing risk. The ability to acquire sufficient finance to execute the venture.
Modern View of Entrepreneurship
The modern view of entrepreneurship defines it as a dynamic process of creating value, solving complex problems, and driving systemic innovation rather than merely launching a small business.
Entrepreneurship Is a Process
A process is a series of continuous, connected steps or actions taken to achieve a specific goal or outcome. In the context of entrepreneurship, a process means that building a business is not a single random event, but a structured journey with clear phases as follows:
- Opportunity recognition. Finding an unmet need, gap, or problem in the market.
- Idea development.Creating a solution and testing its viability through planning and prototyping.
- Resource acquisition. Gathering the necessary funding, tools, and team members.
- Venture creation. Formally launching and registering the business as a legal entity.
- Growth and scaling. Managing operations, generating revenue, and expanding the customer base.
Agility.
The agile perspective of entrepreneurship treats launching and growing a business as an adaptive, continuous learning process rather than the execution of a rigid, pre-written master plan as follows:
- Iterative action over exhaustive planning. Build and release a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) quickly to test assumptions rather than waiting for a perfect, large-scale launch.
- Customer collaboration over rigid contracts. Engage users early and often to shape products based on real feedback instead of guessing what the market wants.
- Responding to change over sticking to a plan. Pivot strategies smoothly when market uncertainties or shifting customer preferences arise.
- Working prototypes over heavy documentation. Prioritise functional results and fast learning cycles to minimise wasted time and resources
Value Creation over Pure Profit:
Contemporary enterprises focus on addressing societal and environmental needs rather than strictly chasing financial returns.
Value creation is the process of making products, services, or businesses more useful and worth more than the cost of the raw materials or effort put into them. In business, it is mainly about the benefits for customers and the business. For customers, it is the benefit or satisfaction a product or service provides compared to the cost. For companies, it is turning basic inputs such as time, skills, or raw materials into something that generates a profit and builds loyalty.
The main ways to create value are:
- By creating new products or inventing items that solve a new problem or meet an unmet need.
- Improving efficiency by making current processes faster or cheaper without losing quality.
- By creating better experiences, offering great customer service, convenience, or strong brand trust.
Technological Integration
Modern ventures leverage disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automation to scale rapidly and reshape traditional business models.
Ecosystem Reliance:
Success today depends heavily on interconnected startup hubs, mentorship networks, and global digital access rather than just individual starting capital.
Social and Ethical Impact:
Conscious consumerism has elevated social entrepreneurship, making sustainability and ethical giving core components of a brand’s mission
Internet Entrepreneurship
As it can be seen above, entrepreneurship is about spotting opportunity, and taking action that will bring about change. That change may be be gradual or disruptive.
The impact of e-commerce, which affiliate marketing is part of, is disruptive! Disruption occurs when old ways of doing things are made obsolete by new ones. I was walking down my local shopping center the other day and I realized that many of the big shops, especially the retail ones have shut down. Then I found out that online shopping is affecting them. As old ways of doing business are rendered obsolete, new opportunities emerge through the new ways of doing things and what entrepreneurs do is spot and take advantage of these opportunities.
You can call it online entrepreneur, Internet Entrepreneur or cyber entrepreneur. The main difference between traditional and Internet entrepreneurship is that the later involves doing business mainly through online platforms, typically websites. In addition, the Internet has facilitated the process of entrepreneurship and make more accessible and less expensive than in a brick-and-mortar business.
How to Become An Internet Entrepreneur – Lessons Learned from Unsuccessful Online Venture
I was just doing a search to find out what the experts suggest is the best way to start an online business. I did not find anything new! However, what I found here is a fascinating and honest post by Tung Tran about the reasons he learned from failing as an Internet Entrepreneur. As they always say “Experience is the best teacher”. Let’s take a look at the points he raised and use this as reverse engineering.
- Taking Action – Research has shown that taking action is one of the main traits of an entrepreneur. If you have an idea and don’t take action, nothing changes; it remains an idea in the head. According to Les Brown “The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry our their dream.”
- Getting a Coach or Mentor – A coach or mentor is a change agent. A coach or mentor will help you to get results and avoid wasting time and money. Even talking to someone can help you figure out what decision to take even when the person does not have to say anything. All you need is a listening ear!
- Join a Mastermind Group – I knew about Mastermind group while reading Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill many years ago but it did not make any sense then until few years ago. A mastermind group is will help you to navigate through challenges using the collective intelligence of others.
- Apply the 80/20 Rule – This is the Pareto principle which was applied to management by Joseph M. Juran, which has now become a generally accepted way of doing things. It is based on the view that 80% of the results we get comes from 20% of efforts. Consequently, we have to identify things that generate the desired results and focus on them.
- Focus on One Line of Business – This is a critical point because it has happened to me. Trying to do so many things at one time may mean that you end up doing nothing, because you become “Jack of all trade but master of none”, as the saying goes! So, focusing on one thing is crucial to success.
- Discover Your Passion – What are you passionate about? If you do what you love, this comes naturally and it is likely that you will succeed in it you will be totally committed to it. You will not lack motivation and bored.
- Be productive and don’t be deceived by the hype – There is belief that online business is very easy because of the false impressions spread by the so called gurus that you do not have to do much work. All you need to do is about few hours a week and cruise round the world while your money is falling from the skies like the biblical Manna from Heaven. Every undertaking needs hard work!
- Other points – Learn financial management in order to be able to manage your finances well, start a blog (after all, it is a online business), build an email list (because they are your potential customers) and be adaptable(because technology changes fast).
References:
Eisenmann, T (2013). Entrepreneurship: A Working Definition. [online] Website name. Available at: https://hbr.org/2013/01/what-is-entrepreneurship[Accessed 05 Jan. 2018].
Holland, J. (2015) Innovation and Enterprise.
Schumpeter, J. A. (1934).The Theory of Economic Development: An Inquiry Into Profits, Capital, Credit, Interest, and the Business Cycle. Transaction Publishers. Google Books
Smith, Daniel (2010) “The Role of Entrepreneurship in Economic Growth,” Undergraduate Economic Review: Vol. 6: Iss.1, Article 7. Available at: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/uer/vol6/iss1/7
Tran, T (2016). 11 Lessons Learned from 2.5 Years of Being an Unsuccessful Internet Entrepreneur. [online] Available at: [https://www.cloudliving.com/unsuccessful-internet-entrepreneur/ [Accessed 07 Jan. 2017].