The Many Faces of Entrepreneurship

By Nicola Corzine, Executive Director, Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center

What is an entrepreneur? In today’s popular culture, entrepreneurs are imagined as young men building investor-fueled billion-dollar tech companies in Silicon Valley. But the reality of growing a business for everyday entrepreneurs all around the country looks far more diverse and complex than this. So for a moment, I’d like to challenge our current notion of entrepreneurship by examining some of the myths surrounding it.

Myth #1: To be a great entrepreneur, you must be in Silicon Valley.

The reality is, entrepreneurs are from every corner of the globe and are an integral part of every state in the U.S. This year’s Kauffman Index of Startup Activity actually ranked Austin, Miami, and L.A. above the San Francisco Bay Area.[1] If you’re thinking those are only “small” startups, not high-growth entrepreneurial endeavors, think again. The same study found that when looking at startup growth factors (that is, revenue of more than $2 million a year), Washington D.C. and Austin outperformed the Bay Area in 2016.[2]

Myth #2: Getting venture money is the best way to grow my business.

The reality is, how you grow your business all depends on you. Of course, you need access to capital to support your vision, but venture capital isn’t the only way. So forget what you’ve read about needing to raise millions of dollars to start a company and remember you have other options: Loans, credit, bootstrapping, crowdfunding, grants, strategic partnerships. After all, consider this: the average amount of outside capital raised by an Inc. 500 company is around $50,000[3].

Myth #3: You have to build up entrepreneurs from an early age.

We’ve all heard stories of entrepreneurial wunderkind, from Mark Zuckerberg to Steve Jobs, who bucked the traditional path to success. But starting young isn’t a prerequisite for being a successful entrepreneur. In fact, the Kauffman Foundation found that the population of entrepreneurial talent is spread fairly evenly across the full range of age groupings for the population in the US.[4]

Myth #4: It’s too difficult for immigrants to be entrepreneurs in the U.S.

Despite only accounting for 13% of the population, immigrants are responsible for starting more than 25% of businesses of all sizes in this country. Furthermore, over 20% of the 2014 Inc. 500 CEOs are immigrants to the U.S.[5] The reality is, American entrepreneurship thrives on the innovations and ideas that immigrants bring to this country.

So let’s revisit our original question: “What is an entrepreneur”? They are the people all around us who take risks every day to start and grow their businesses. Who understand the struggles and triumphs of being an entrepreneur — and choose to do it anyway. Who come from a wide range of experiences, industries, countries, and walks of life, but are united by their passion for turning their dreams into reality. They fundamentally believe they can make something different — something that improves our lives and enriches our society while powering job creation and our GDP.

Whether they’re building an empire or a better life for themselves.; whether they’re surrounded by employees or going solo; whether they’re well-funded or bootstrapped — the common thread is that entrepreneurs are as varied and valuable as the innovations they create.

If you want to take a closer look at the impact and richness of entrepreneurial diversity across industries, regions, and business types, we invite you to follow our #facesofentrepreneurship series online. And we welcome you, as an entrepreneur, to the Center, where we look forward to guiding and celebrating your journey.

[1] 2016 Kauffman Index of Startup Activity http://bit.ly/2dDClVW

[2] 2016 Kauffman Index: Growth Entrepreneurship http://bit.ly/2dQdMDF

[3] Jonothan Aberman, Washington Post, February 22nd 2016 http://wapo.st/1Oq43ey

[4] Kauffman Foundation, 2016 National Trends, http://bit.ly/2ar8B8o

[5] Adam Bluestein, From the February 2015 issue of Inc. magazine http://on.inc.com/1yeev42

Nicola Corzine is the Director of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center.