No, the entrepreneur thing has not jumped the shark

If you are tuned into the current collection of thought leaders on entrepreneurship online today, and part of the conversation of those who are aware of them, you may have heard (or even thought) that the entrepreneur fad has gone too far. Too many incubators, too many accelerators, too many thought leaders, too many conferences, just too much crap.

I was starting to think that way too, because I spent all my time around this very small group of people. But I’m here to tell you that’s just bullshit.

Go into any low income neighborhood and have a conversation around entrepreneurship and tell me if that market is oversaturated. How about the community of new Americans (or immigrants if that is your preferred term)? What about incarcerated persons? What about the majority of high schoolers or people in community colleges? Hell, what about just regular old blue collar Middle America?

No, awareness of the latest in entrepreneurship is not saturated. It’s consolidated. Just like wealth in this country.

There is plenty of opportunity and need for people who want to help educate the majority of Americans who do not understand how the globalization and technology have (apparently forever) changed how our economy works, and entrepreneurship is not just a fun couple of years in your life when you’re young, it’s the future. It’s a life skill. Whether you are in the private market, non-profits or even the government sector, you will be required to be more entrepreneurial with everyday that passes.

That’s because entrepreneurs see change as an opportunity to embrace new solutions, not something to ignore and hide from. We are in an era of massive change on every front. The successful among us will have the ability to create solutions for emerging problems, communicate their vision and purpose, and inspire others to action. We need a helluva lot more of that right now, not less.

We must work towards a more diverse landscape of “21st century ready” entrepreneurs. Not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because we as a society suffer when the platform to innovate and serve is limited to a certain segment of the population.