Understanding the ‘Student Entrepreneur’
What sets a student entrepreneur apart from their grown-up counterparts?
Student entrepreneurialism is booming, according to recent articles by The Guardian and others. Indeed, last week, I found myself surrounded by hundreds of Scotland’s student entrepreneurs who descended on Edinburgh for the Scottish Institute for Enterprise’s annual summit (more on that here). But how much do we know about this growing mass of entrepreneurial talent? Surprisingly little, it turns out.
Many academics have passed over student entrepreneurs in the debate regarding ‘what makes an entrepreneur?’ describing them as individuals who exploit academic research for financial gain. I’m sure that many student entrepreneurs will agree with me when I say that this simply isn’t true. In fact, my own research points to quite the opposite; student entrepreneurs are creative individuals with a passion for helping others within their own communities, and their start-up businesses do everything from web design, to serving tea and coffee, to the development of pioneering medical technology. Today, I want to share some of my research about the ‘student entrepreneur’ with you, in the hope that we can better understand this fascinating subset of entrepreneurs, their needs, and their goals.
It’s Not About the Money
Let’s get one thing straight from the get-go. Student entrepreneurs are not driven by money. Sure, there are plenty who would be keen to see some financial gain at the end of running their businesses, but this isn’t their goal. The next generation of entrepreneurs are, instead, driven by the potential to do things better, to create value for society, and to help people in need. As one student entrepreneur I interviewed told me, it is about “trying to make a difference in the world.”
So how do student entrepreneurs produce this change? There are two answers to this question, both of which academics and entrepreneurship educators have ignored until now.
Creativity is Key
The first answer is simple: student entrepreneurs are creative individuals, regardless of whether they’re training to be an engineer or are performing as a stand-up comedian. Entrepreneurship has long been associated with innovation, a definition popularised by the work of Schumpeter in the 1930s. Nevertheless, student entrepreneurs are always keen to point out that you don’t have to do anything ‘new’ to be an entrepreneur. Indeed, student entrepreneurs are often interested in doing things differently, whether that be by making incremental improvements to existing products and services, or applying an alternative business model and way of thinking to a problem.
There are also student entrepreneurs who don’t believe in producing tangible products or services. One student entrepreneur I spoke to described how actors and comedians were well-positioned to be titled ‘entrepreneurs’; “their comedy is a business […] They, themselves, become the product that they’re selling.”
Going Beyond Business
Traditionally, entrepreneurs were competitive and secret individuals. Today, the opposite is true. Student entrepreneurs are breaking down barriers and encouraging each other to work together. As Josh Carson told me when I interviewed him last year, today’s entrepreneurs are “interest in engaging with other people running businesses — even direct competitors — and want to help them grow together. There’s more of a community aspect.”
Indeed, community is at the heart of student entrepreneurship. You will be hard pressed to find student entrepreneurs who work outside of university incubation spaces, Entrepreneurial Spark hatcheries, and the like. There’s one simple reason for this; working together enables student entrepreneurs to thrive by allowing them to learn from each others’ successes and mistakes.
Thoughts for the Future
So why is this important? Given that so many of our student entrepreneurs participate in entrepreneurship education programmes, it is imperative that programme managers, mentors, and other stakeholders understand their participants. Indeed, there’s some significant academic research by the likes of Klofsten, and Garavan and O’Cinneide to support this claim. Nevertheless, many of the programme managers I have spoken to seem blissfully unaware of the true ambitions and characteristics of their participants, something which, I feel, we should put right.
So next time you’re chatting to a student entrepreneur, or advising them on their next business idea, remember this: there’s more to these individuals than profiteering. For today’s student entrepreneurs, business is all about doing things better, through creativity and collaboration. If we can learn to think this way, we can provide student entrepreneurs with the best chances of success.
If you enjoyed this post, then please recommend it on Medium and social media. You can also follow me on Medium for further articles about business, entrepreneurship, and more.
