What is an Entrepreneur?

What is an Entrepreneur?

An entrepreneur is an individual who accepts financial risks and undertakes new financial ventures. The word derives from the French "entre" (to enter) and "prendre" (to take), and in a general sense applies to any person starting a new project or trying a new opportunity.

Many societies place great value on the entrepreneur. To encourage their activity, they may be offered access to inexpensive capital, tax exemptions and management advice. An entrepreneur has the greatest chance of success by focusing on a market niche either too small or too new to have been noticed by established businesses. To help new technologies come to market, many universities establish business incubators for entrepreneurs hoping to turn leading edge research into marketable products.

Characteristics of an entrepreneur include spontaneous creativity, the ability and willingness to make decisions in the absence of solid data, and a generally risk-taking personality.

An entrepreneur may be driven by a need to create something new or build something tangible. In the Austrian school of Economics, entrepreneurs are described as being engaged in the creative destruction of existing products and services. As new enterprises have low success rates, an entrepreneur must also have considerable persistence.

Entrepreneurs are generally highly independent, which can cause problems when their ventures succeed. In a small company the entrepreneur is able to personally manage most aspects of the business, but this is not possible once the company has grown beyond a certain size. Management conflicts often arise when the entrepreneur does not recognize that running a large stable company is different from running a small growing company. The problem is often resolved by the entrepreneur either leaving to start a new venture, or being forced out by shareholders.


The word "Entrepreneur" brings one respected personality in my mind.

He is Mr Narayana Murthy, the founder of Infosys Technologies Limited , India.
Personally I feel I am very lucky to have worked with Infosys and I cherish it. The experience of almost 2 years gave me enough confidence & strength to move forward to pursue my personal goals.

Let us see what the world has to talk about him :

Indian businessman named World Entrepreneur Of The Year®

Third annual Ernst & Young event sees Narayana Murthy, head of Infosys Technologies, selected from field of 26 nominees.

Monte Carlo, 7 June 2003 — An Indian billionaire who started his software company 22 years ago with US$250 and who still lives in a modest apartment was this evening named Ernst & Young’s 2003 World Entrepreneur Of The Year (WEOY) at an award ceremony in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
Judges of the award praised Narayana Murthy’s "intellectually-, philosophically-, ethically- and spiritually-driven entrepreneurship" and his company’s "outstanding financial performance and global impact in a dynamic and volatile industry."

Infosys Technologies Ltd provides end-to-end technology and consulting solutions to small and large corporations, and employs more than 10,000 people worldwide. It is a zero-debt company which regularly posts growth of 30 per cent per annum, and is listed on the Nasdaq with a market capitalization in the billions. Currently, 98 per cent of Infosys’s revenues are generated outside India.


The company’s corporate governance system is based on five concepts dating back to its inception: "the softest pillow is a clear conscience; when in doubt, disclose; don’t use corporate resources for personal use; put long-term interests ahead of short-term ones; and share wealth with employees."

Mr Murthy believes strongly in corporate social responsibility, and has said that, beyond a certain point, personal wealth should be used to make a difference to society. He contributes a majority of his wealth to public causes.

Mr Murthy, who is based in Bangalore, was selected as the World Entrepreneur Of The Year from a field of 26 entrants — each of whom has been named Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) in national or regional programs run by Ernst & Young.

Collectively, the 26 finalists in this year’s WEOY awards program employ more than 76,000 people and represent approximately 6.5 billion euros in revenue.

Chairman of Ernst & Young, James S. Turley, said: "Mr Murthy’s story is a truly inspirational one. He has demonstrated quality leadership, and embodies both entrepreneurial spirit and business excellence. We are delighted he has been selected to receive this year’s award."
A panel of 11 judges - each of whom is a past participant in the Entrepreneur Of The Year program in his or her country — chose Mr Murthy as the recipient of the award, based on written applications and meetings held throughout the course of the four-day event.

The WEOY program was established three years ago, and builds on Ernst & Young’s 17 years of success in running national EOY programs. The EOY award was begun by Ernst & Young in the United States in 1986 to recognize entrepreneurs who had created and sustained successful, growing business ventures. Since then, the program has grown throughout the world, expanding to six continents and more than 100 cities.