Entrepreneur

This Is What Entrepreneurs Have To Say About Their Unforgettable Travel Experiences

A travelling entrepreneur is a happy entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurship does come with a hectic schedule but it also brings along opportunities to travel to news places. Taking you business to a new country, going to a different state just to meet an investor or just taking time off after months of working, travelling in any form is both fun and a learning experience.
Getting to know new cultures and learning to adapt to new circumstances are some of the many by products of travelling that can be very useful in business. Also, travelling experience changes you as a person and broadens your mind. Each experience is different and can teach you something new.

We asked entrepreneurs and some of their memorable travelling experiences and places they wish they can go back to.
The Argentinean cough that took us from drug store to drug store 
 Kanika Tekriwal, Founder, JetSetGo – South America is my absolute favourite. I would give an arm and a leg to visit the continent every chance I got.  The thing I enjoyed most is to go out there and talk to strangers. I’ve made some of my closest friends travelling and talking to absolute strangers in restaurants, clubs and trains. I am also a big endorser of trying all food local.
A funny incident that happened on the trip, well I can laugh about it now, is that I managed to get the Argentinean cough. It was a horrible cough, which barely allowed me to speak two words without coughing spread over a p of some 8-9 days. We struggled from drug store to drug store trying to explain to chemists what it was we were in need of.  Post which we had to board our flight to Peru where I had the entire aircraft awake simply because I was coughing.  I learnt my lesson and never left the country after that without my big bag of local drugs.
Good people, good food, weird people and weird food 
Ashwini Ashokan, CEO and Co-founder, Mad Street Den – California is my meditation, the place that brings me so much peace and freedom to me. When I get off the flight – I can’t explain the joy I feel. Good people, good food, weird people and weird food. It feels so right, helps me think out of the box all the time. I’ve been on ethnographic trips doing field work, design research and attending conferences and they’re some of the best places to talk to people. People therapy I call it. And it worked out well because that was work for me at one point in my life. Not to mention the beauty and history in these places.
Chennai, where I’m from, is also among my favourites. You can’t take Madras out of me. I have a love hate relationship with her.
We did’t know if we’ll survive the ride or not
Amit Koshal, Founder ; CEO, Fashalot – Sikkim. It’s a beautiful destination with serenity and amazing people everywhere. We went to Nathula Pass. The drive is crazy, every single minute in probably a 2 hrs ride, you don’t know if you will survive the ride or not. But the journey gave me enough courage to sail through in difficult times.
I became Ms. Rugs and Beyond
Sakshi Talwar, Founder, Rugs ; Beyond – The most interesting was last summer on a Mediterranean cruise.  Every day during noon when most of the people were by the deck, I would wear my company T-shirt which boldly said “Keep Calm and shop Rugs and Beyond”. Sure, it’s a great way to promote your brand while cruising with 3000 plus passengers; however by the end of the trip people knew me as Ms. Rugs and Beyond to the extent that even the cruise staff addressed me calling that. It was so much fun interacting with all those people and of course generated business later on.
The Khmer regime changed my perspective towards life completely
Likitha Bhanu, CEO and Founder, Terra Greens – I recently visited Cambodia which was great and I learnt a lot, especially about the Cambodian genocide which happened in the 70s. I think knowing about what the Cambodian people went through and the extent of damage that happened during the Khmer regime changed my perspective towards life completely. Compared to the problems Cambodia faces every day, my problems felt so insignificant and for once, I felt really grateful for living in a country which values freedom and protects us from harm. Cambodia definitely holds a special place in my heart and I feel that more people should educate themselves about the Cambodian genocide and definitely visit!
What are some of your favourite travelling destinations? Share with us on our Facebook Page .

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Entrepreneur

The Fundamentals of Entrepreneurship DB

My view of entrepreneurship is that you don’t need to have exceptional skills to be successful when you decide to start a business. All one needs to have is the desire to work in order to achieve his goals. According to my understanding of the word entrepreneur, it is a French word which means to undertake, so in business it is to start a business. To say that you must have superior qualities that a few have in order to be an entrepreneur is not only far fetched but also erroneous, I simply don’t agree with that kind of thought.
Strategic planning is a direction or strategy that a business is going to follow in certain period of time. It is so important to a small business in because it keeps it on the edge of competition with big companies. A business with no strategy has no direction. Strategy outlines the direction of the business. Without a strategy it is difficult to achieve goals in a business and small businesses therefore ought to formulate viable strategies that can cope with competition and at the same time make the business focused in scope. To me strategic planning is a process that does not only requires good management skills but also it requires the will and commitment by all persons involved in order to attain the set goals. (McDonald, 2001)
There are several factors that an entrepreneur should consider before choosing any form of ownership. There are: The risks involved which are normally high in entrepreneurship, purpose of the business, its goals, strategies for achieving each goal, a plan to implement each goal and the way of monitoring the implementation plan. Other  factors includes the influence one have in the running of the  business and one must also know the responsibility for debts, the amount of  tax payable to the government and the county or the local government, one must also know the  government policies of that particular business. A person must also consider the amount of profit to expect and the time he or she spends on that business.

I disagree with educators who thinks that student in colleges should not engage in business, this is simply because the students engage in this for they have been taught its fundamentals and they cannot wait to put them in practice. Once students get the desired knowledge they become innovative and hence they cannot wait to test their skills as entrepreneurs. Research indicates that entrepreneurship should include innovations such as; new products, new production methods, new markets and new types of business among other innovations. In my own perspective wealth is created when such innovations are utilized since it results in new demand of commodities.
The purpose of an entrepreneur is to build a lucrative, moral, and a sustainable business organization. I am of the opinion that one must adhere to factors such as: 1. Profitable business practices that satisfies and attract new customers, pay employees fairly and rewards innovation and diligence.2.Ethical business practices that include the protection the privacy of the clients and employee financial and personal information, to respect ethnic, political and religious backgrounds of the customers.3.Sustainable business practices that can withstand the dynamics of the world, these involves establishing markets not exploiting them, doing away with abusive working conditions and keeping  basic labor rights, replacing non-renewable energy sources with renewable energy sources, encouraging developing countries to improve labor and environmental standards amongst suppliers. (Cullen and Boteeah, 2005)
Reference
Cullen, J. and Boteeah, K. (2005) Multinational Management: A strategic Approach: 3rd
Edition: Thomson South-Western; Mason
McDonald, M. (2001): Marketing Plans: How to Prepare Them, How to Use Them. 4th
Edition: London, Butterworth Heinenamm
 
 
 

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Entrepreneur

Types of Entrepreneurs

Types of Entrepreneurs 1. Classic Entrepreneur. Wants to innovate, grow big and make a lot of money. The classic entrepreneur is not interested in starting a business to give herself a job. If you want to start a company, make it profitable and sell it, then you are a classic serial entrepreneur. The SAC Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program wants to make sure that everyone understands Classical Entrepreneurship. Most community college entrepreneur programs focus on small business development. Many universities teach entrepreneurship, but from a theoretical point of view. 2. Small Business Entrepreneur.
Also know as an income replacement entrepreneur. This would include most family owned businesses and franchises. If you open up a small single restaurant, or buy a Pizza Hut franchise, you are a small businessperson, but not a classic entrepreneur. If you buy a franchise you are executing someone else’s plan. Many people start a small business to give themselves a job. If you start a small business or buy a franchise, you need to study small business ownership and there are lots of college classes on small business ownership, management, accounting and marketing, but these classes will not teach you to be a classic entrepreneur.
You can also get help from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the SBDC (Small Business Development Center). We have an SBDC here in Santa Ana. Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) is a type of small business owner. If you sell life insurance or real estate you are a small business owner. For example, many lawyers, plumbers and landscapers start their own small businesses. See the book, The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber. 3. Lifestyle Entrepreneur. These are entrepreneurs that love what they do and want to live a certain lifestyle. They are usually not as motivated by money as other entrepreneurs.

They are willing to make sacrifices in order to stay with something they love and to lead a certain lifestyle. For example, hard core surfers may start a small surf shop knowing they will never make much money financially but also know they will be outside in the surfing world they love. Ferriss in the 4 Hour Workweek is a Lifestyle Entrepreneur that is also a Classic Entrepreneur and an Income-Stream Entrepreneur and a Global Entrepreneur. One reason I love to teach college and not practice law is that I like the lifestyle of a college professor. . Social Entrepreneur. Social Entrepreneurs want to make money, but also want to save the world. They are motivated by money but also want to do something good or helpful. They often want to follow the triple bottom line. The traditional bottom line for a business is Profits. Social Entrepreneurs are motivated by the triple bottom line: Profits, People and Planet. Social Entrepreneurs tend to be idealistic. Many young entrepreneurs are interested in Social Entrepreneurship. “Green” Businesses are often started by Social Entrepreneurs.
Social entrepreneurs are still for profit businesses, but they have some of the characteristics of not-for-profit corporations. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about social entrepreneurship: Social Entrepreneurship is the work of social entrepreneurs. A social entrepreneur recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create and manage a venture to achieve social change (a social venture). While a business entrepreneur typically measures performance in profit and return, a social entrepreneur focuses on creating social capital.
Thus, the main aim of social entrepreneurship is to further social and environmental goals. Social entrepreneurs are most commonly associated with the voluntary and not-for-profit sectors [1], but this need not preclude making a profit. Social entrepreneurship practised with a world view or international context is called international social entrepreneurship. [2 5. Not-for Profit Entrepreneur. These are entrepreneurs that are totally interested in doing something helpful and making the world a better place.
After all, someone had to start the Red Cross or Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Non-Profits can be big businesses and pay a lot in salaries; they just cannot make a profit. Peter Drucker, one of the best business minds ever, has written that he thinks that Not-for-Profit businesses are the most interesting of all forms of business and he thinks they have the most impact. 6. Global Entrepreneurs. Some people start businesses because they love to travel and want to interact with people in other countries. In the early 1990’s I started a small trading company to do business in Indonesia.
For a short time I traveled back and forth and lived and worked in Southern California and Jakarta. Global Entrepreneurs combine a love of entrepreneurship and international business. 7. Science/Technology Entrepreneurs. Much innovation comes out of new scientific discoveries and technological discoveries – think the Internet or mapping human’s DNA. Think engineers and Silicon Valley. When you say the word entrepreneurship to people, many think of starting a company that uses some type of technology. 8. Copycat Entrepreneurs.
Forget all the talk about innovation and creativity, you make money by finding a good business and figuring out how to make small but significant changes or improvements in that business with your new business. You can start a Copycat business fairly quickly. Copycat Entrepreneurs focus on operational excellence and execution intelligence. 9. Creative Entrepreneurs. Some entrepreneurs are “right brained” entrepreneurs – art, music and design entrepreneurs. Often they create and learn from a non-linear visual point of view.
Their book is The Creative Entrepreneur by Linda Beam. 10. Intrapraneurs. If you work for a company, but have a high degree of autonomy, you are an intrapraneur. Imagine that you work for Motorola, a very large corporation. But, you run a division and every two years your division designs a project and competes with other divisions for the capital to carry out that project. You are acting like an entrepreneur even though you do not own the business. The word intrapraneur is out of fashion in academia today.
As a teacher, I am an intrapraneur – I have a high degree of autonomy, but I don’t own the school. 11. Income Stream Entrepreneur. An Income Stream Entrepreneur is not looking to work in the business created. An Income Stream Entrepreneur may have a job and is just looking for extra money. The Rich Dad Poor Dad books talk a lot about creating income streams. An easy example is someone that creates a nice income stream by selling rare comic books on EBay. Rental properties that have a positive cash flow also create an income stream.

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Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs from MIT

In this paper we explore the factors that condition the likelihood that an entrepreneur starts a second firm. We use data from survey responses of 1,789 entrepreneurs to examine firm founding behavior. Results indicate that multiple entrepreneurs differ from single-firm entrepreneurs in certain demographic and educational characteristics prior to starting a first firm. The phenomenon of graduates embarking on careers of multiple entrepreneurship appears to be growing over time.
The results also show that the first firms of eventual multiple entrepreneurs differ from the first firms of single-firm only entrepreneurs. The paper indicates that those entrepreneurs with the highest probability of starting a second firm have greater time and access to financial resources to undertake a new venture. Starting a first firm sooner after graduation, being divorced, the first firm being acquired, and raising initial capital for the first firm from angel investors all increase the probability that the entrepreneur will start a second firm.
I. Introduction A growing literature in strategy and economics has noted that an important source of new entrants is incumbent firms in the same industry (Klepper 2001; Gompers, Lerner, and Scharfstein, 2005). However, these studies have developed and emphasized theories regarding employees leaving incumbent firms to start new ventures. Various lenses, such as agency theory, organizational capability theories, employee learning theories, and evolutionary theories have been used to evaluate why employees decide to leave their firms to spin-off new firms.

Most of these theories emphasize some sort of conflict between the spin-off and the incumbent’s top management. On the other hand, in the finance literature, a growing group of scholars have examined the determinants of CEO turnover. However, these authors typically focus on forced CEO turnover in relation to firm and industry performance. CEOs who voluntarily leave and what they do after leaving are seldom studied (for important exceptions see Wasserman 2003; Bertrand and Schoar 2003).
At the intersection is a relatively important gap in our understanding– the founder or CEO who is pushed out or voluntarily leaves a firm and decides to start a new firm. The existing theories of spin-off activity (with the possible exception of evolutionary-based theories) do not explain or fit this phenomenon well, and the existing work on CEO turnover with an emphasis on corporate governance of large firms does not shed much light on the phenomenon either. As a result, it has proven difficult to determine how prior founding experience should be interpreted (i.
e. as a measure of risk aversion, learning, or reduced asymmetric information on quality for investors). The importance of the entrepreneur who starts multiple firms over the course of a lifetime has been recognized in the academic literature as a potentially widespread aspect of new firm creation for at least 35 years (Cooper, 1970). However, in relation to its likely significance for economic growth and for the field of entrepreneurship the phenomenon has been understudied (see Table 1).
With some recent exceptions (Sarasvathy ; Monon, 2005), almost no theoretical work has been done (Westhead, 1998). As a result, the few empirical studies use different definitions, populations, and control variables leaving little consensus on foundational questions about how important or how widespread is this phenomenon in the U. S. or internationally. This deficiency is especially true in regard to companies formed to exploit new technology. The purpose of this paper is to advance our understanding of what factors condition the likelihood that a founder will leave a firm and start a new firm.
Is it differences in underlying individual demographic characteristics or differences in characteristics of the first firm experience or performance that motivate novice founders to initiate a new firm founding. To answer these questions, we use a founder-firm matched panel data set, where we track over time founders across different firms that they start or choose to remain with. Our cross-industry data also allow us to examine how industry characteristics may affect how likely a founder will be to try founding a second new firm.

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