Surfing the web, I’ve found a new special report from The Economist about entrepreneurship and the global recession that we are living in these times. You can download it for free here
One of my favourite part is about the 5 myths about entrepreneurship:
1) Entrepreneurs are “orphans and outcasts” to borrow the phrase of George Gilder, an American intellectuals: entrepreneurship is a social activity, the most successful entrepreneurs have a strong network of people, it’s not a “me against the world” battle
2) Entrepreneurs are kids: we usually know just about Bill Gates and Steve Jobs that in their early twenties were working overnight in their garages, but the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Harland Sanders, was 65 when he started his business.
3) Entrepreneurship is driven by venture capital: that’s true for capital intensive industries such high tech and bio-tech but most of the businesses out there are started with the 3 F money: Founder, Family and Friends
4) If you want to succeed, you must create a world changing product: actually most of the successful entrepreneurs focus on processes rather than products. Oprah Wilfrey has become Oprah Wilfrey through successful brand management
5) Entrepreneurship cannot flourish in big companies: well, small is good because startups are aggressive and innovative but some big companies help their entrepreneurs with money and know how.
