What exactly is an entrepreneur?

The term ” entrepreneur” often means nothing more than “businessman“. This term is also used in German-speaking countries. However, there are small differences in meaning here. Read the following article to find out exactly what an entrepreneur is and what requirements you need to meet to become one.

What is an entrepreneur – a short entrepreneur definition

Whether Entrepreneur in German or as a term from the English-speaking world – the meaning of Entrepreneur is made up of the French words “entre” and “prendre”.

As an entrepreneur definition, this combination means something like company or entrepreneur, but it is about more than just founding a company. This refers to the owner of a company who is characterised by certain qualities. Entrepreneurs are often visionaries who break new ground with their ideas.

Examples include start-ups with innovative ideas or companies whose business objectives are outside the mainstream. They often take high risks to achieve their goals and are not deterred by setbacks. Successful entrepreneurs are often seen as responsible, independent and strong-willed.

What does entrepreneurship mean?

Derived from the meaning of entrepreneur, the question “What does entrepreneurship mean?” can also be answered. It means something like entrepreneurial spirit and entrepreneurship. Depending on the orientation, this can be divided into the following types, for example:

Young or Senior Entrepreneur: Very young founders without professional experience and older founders with a lot of experience

Serial Entrepreneur (serial founder): Founding a company is not enough for many visionaries. They therefore often follow up their initial success with further start-ups and are virtually always on the lookout for new, promising ideas that they can realise in a start-up project.

Eco Entrepreneur: The focus is on sustainable business ideas (e.g. environmentally friendly, organic, fair trade)

High-Tech Entrepreneur: The focus here is on innovative technologies. These start-ups are often the most cost-intensive.

Did you know? Incidentally, the female counterpart to the entrepreneur is called the fempreneur.

Entrepreneur in Residence Meaning

Would you like to gain the necessary experience and acquire important skills before starting your own company? As an Entrepreneur in Residence, you start as a founder in an existing company in order to build up the practical know-how that is a prerequisite for your own start-up.

As an Entrepreneur in Residence, you will be supported by an established company that will give you an insight into many different areas of business management. You can contribute your ideas and implement them with the help of the company.

In particular, you can learn about the legal, strategic and financial aspects of setting up a company as an Entrepreneur in Residence. As well as taking on more responsibility without immediately founding a start-up at full risk. This way, you minimise the risk of failing due to a lack of experience in setting up a business.

An experienced Entrepreneur in Residence can start something new within a company. Creative university graduates and other entrepreneurs in residence with fresh ideas, on the other hand, are first prepared for starting their own business by working their way through all departments within the company.

Alternatively, you can also study “Entrepreneurship” to gain the know-how to start a business.

Entrepreneurship: Examples

There are many successful examples of entrepreneurship. Investor Frank Thelen is one of Germany’s entrepreneurs . Internationally, the founders Steve Jobs (Apple), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Elon Musk (Paypal, Tesla) and Bill Gates (Microsoft) are successful examples of entrepreneurship that are known worldwide.

How do you become an entrepreneur?

You can become an entrepreneur if you meet certain requirements. Among other things, the following characteristics are important if you want to be successful as an entrepreneur:

Visionary: Think visionary and future-oriented if you want to take off as an entrepreneur. You can be inspired by famous examples, but you should follow your own path.

Courageous: Put your ideas, your concept and the planned implementation into words and present them courageously to important decision-makers. A complete business plan is an ideal basis for this.

Self-confident: Market yourself and your concept confidently to find potential investors.

Willing to take risks: Be prepared to take risks, but don’t overestimate yourself.

Not afraid of conflict: it is important to deal with the uncomfortable things that are part of life for founders. For example, dismissals of employees who do not really fit into the company.

Goal-oriented: Failures are part of the job. Don’t give up and pursue your goals. Keep going despite possible setbacks, fight for your success.

Patient: Don’t expect to hit the ground running. Success often only comes with time. You may also need several attempts before it works.