Entrepreneurship — What Comes Next
You would’ve had to have been living under a rock these past few years to have missed the buzz around entrepreneurship. Being an entrepreneur has become trendy, with startups cropping up everywhere, and the popularity of the idea of being your own boss. But the entrepreneurship buzz will cool down, and this is why.
What is entrepreneurship?
I first learned about entrepreneurship in my Year 8 Business Class. Back then, entrepreneurship was defined simply as the act of creating a unique business proposition; and an entrepreneur as someone who pursues such a business. But now, entrepreneurship extends beyond creating a new business. Entrepreneurship exists as a culture and as a way of thinking. It seems that you don’t even have to start your own venture to be an entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurship is predicated on new ideas: new business ventures seem like a good idea because they bring something new to the market. Frans Johansson declares that new ideas are a combination of already existing ideas. Thus, new ventures tend to take what exists already and propose a better way of doing it; or they create something seemingly new by presenting unrelated concepts in a way that hasn’t been done before.
For example, Facebook wasn’t the first social network to exist; but by doing things better (functionality, accessibility, etc), it was able to transcend the first-movers in that market (e.g. Myspace). And it’s stayed near the top of the social media world by outlasting its competitors, by buying Instagram and by integrating Snapchat like features across its products. Facebook wasn’t a first mover, but by combining ideas in a different way, it was able to present social networking in a better way than Myspace and other competitors. 3D printing is another great example. Many social ventures in poorer nations are springing up on the back of this technology. The overall cost-efficiency and speed of 3D printing allow entrepreneurs to present whole new business ventures that create a positive effect in third-world communities and economies. Thus, such entrepreneurs are combining new technologies with local needs to produce new business ventures.
Why entrepreneurship culture will die down
If entrepreneurship is a combination of pre-existing ideas, as some point we’re going to hit the threshold of ideas that are actually useful to the human person. Now, I’m not saying entrepreneurship will die because there will always be those incredibly brilliant minds who will see opportunities no-one else has seen (think Elon Musk). However, entrepreneurship as a culture, where anyone can be an entrepreneur, will die down.
In the current climate, anyone’s idea can become a legitimate business proposition. Yet, because of all the ideas generated through this movement, and because of the specialisations required by incoming technologies (AI, VR, 3D printing), not just anyone will be able to combine ideas in a way that is a) useful, and b) viable as a business model.
Surely the continual generation of ideas can only minimally fulfil the basic needs of a human being? As noted in the example of 3D printing, there is definitely still more ways that creativity and innovation can improve the quality of life for those in less-fortunate situations. Yet, in the Western world, where entrepreneurial culture is rife, I see the invention of new ideas moving more and more into the abstract wants of individuals, rather than addressing concrete needs of the whole. Business ideas begin to target niches of niches, and surely such market segments are too small to be profitable?
What comes next?
What I see coming next is a redefinition of intrapreneurship. In the same way, entrepreneurship blew up as a culture and an ideology, I think intrapreneurship will become a movement. It’s already started to happen, with business students and MBAs learning about applying entrepreneurial ideas within the structure of an established business.
What I see happening is young people entering the workforce with entrepreneurial instincts. Younger generations also desire freedom and flexibility in the workplace. This is something they’re often ridiculed for, but it’s more than just wanting “bean bags and free food”. It’s about impact. Combine these two traits and you have young people, who want the ability to be creative with their knowledge, skills and abilities; and who want to make an impact.
We already knew this about the incoming generations — but we haven’t considered them as natural intrapreneurs. And where they will be most productive is in the startups and new ventures spawned from this era of entrepreneurial culture. As founders try to scale their venture, they will need followers: people who compliment their vision. Again, this isn’t anything new, but I do believe this is where the shift will happen. Rather than this glorification of entrepreneurship, the global talent war will seek intrapreneurs, those young people with the potential to transform a founder’s vision into a competitive venture within its respective market.
Thus, we need to shift the focus from the other buzz word of the last ten years: leadership. The next generation of workers will be called upon to follow, to be the second-in-command, to be the deputy who compliments their founder’s vision. The success of small businesses and startups are going to count on the infusion of energy, ideas and complementarity that these workers can bring.
This post originally featured on my blog — The BX, as part of the challenge I’ve undertaken to write every single day. You can find more of my writing at: http://bit.ly/2hrY9qb.
