“All great change begins at the dinner table.”
A few weeks ago we hosted a 9others dinner, an initiative bringing together entrepreneurs to share experiences and solve problems. This got us thinking, “What makes an entrepreneur?” Our dinner party at Hoxton Grill proved a fruitful discussion to interrogate this question. Here’s what we discovered:
The shift from “me” to “we” on the entrepreneur journey is an important one. It’s the critical transformation from personal ambition to shared purpose. This was linked to the distinction between business owner v. entrepreneur. What’s interesting is how a strong sense of purpose, in particular, was perceived to separate the two. This also sparked conversation about an entrepreneur v Entrepreneur – with the later being the full embodiment of the ideal Entrepreneur spirit.
We started to chart what the Entrepreneur journey may look like. While no two journeys would be exactly alike, this starts to show the progression from starting with pure passion to channeling that energy into a balance between four emerging key drivers.
The Entrepreneur’s Journey
We then began examining how Entrepreneurs focus energy from the initial big idea to a customer-focused proposition.
Different breeds of Entrepreneurs
Surprisingly, not all Entrepreneurs see themselves as leaders. Rather, there seemed to be three distinct breeds of Entrepreneurs at our table: the Leaders, the Makers and the Connecters.
Leaders: Those that inspire change by authority. Think Sir Alan Sugar. These are your more “traditional” Entrepreneurs with strong business minds.
Makers: Those that inspire change through devotion. Think Steve Jobs. These Entrepreneurs have an emotional pull.
Connecters: Those that inspire change by empowering. Think Mark Zuckerberg. These are your 21st century Entrepreneurs that choose to hand over control to the masses.
Are you an entrepreneur? Does this ring true with you? We’re keen to work with entrepreneurs to help kick start your brands. Feel free to get in touch – we’d love to hear your story. Email Alisha.
A special thanks to Matthew and Katie at 9others for organising such an amazing group of people.
