Concluding: Entrepreneurship: Dream or Burden?

With the title of my thesis, Entrepreneurship: Dream or Burden?, I have tried to prime your thinking in suggestively touching upon the polarity of the two concepts. However, I want to argue that dream or burden, is not an a or b situation; it should be seen as a spectrum, a line that moves between the two ends. I have yet to find an entrepreneur who is only living the dream, or who only carries the burden. As shown in this thesis many entrepreneurs follow their startup dream from all over the world and end up in the Bay Area. Here, they discover that they are not the only ones with a great idea that — hopefully — will change the world.

The entrepreneurs arrive in a busy city, where the rent is constantly rising and tourists, homeless people and millionaires walk in proximity. The city breathes tech: visible in not only the robot that makes coffee, but also the endless list of tech related pitch and networks events on platforms such as Eventbrite and Meetup and the many conferences that are being held in the area.

The founders love creating, and can work non-stop from their startup house, hackerhomes, favorite coffee shops or co-working place. They meet like-minded people, from whom they can learn, get inspired by, share ideas with and brainstorm. As my respondents mentioned numerous times: The city is inspiring. There is a sense of community felt by most entrepreneurs I talk to. It is a community that helps each other whenever possible. People share their network, information and feedback with ease…