I am reading an article on my Inc magazine subscription from last year’s issue (catching up) about the need for more entrepreneurs more than MBAs. It says “New companies translate to new ideas, new approaches, products, vision, services, innovation, etc.”
I couldn’t agree more. I have worked both with startups and gigantic enterprises and have experienced the fast paced innovative approach of startups. The excitement, the vision of the team has a strong and powerful kick. Gigantic enterprises on the other hand boasts about innovation, slapping marketing and branding, & vision across all their product offerings but most of these remain as “power point” slides that never see the light of day; fading in the cloud of bureaucratic thorns.
The statistics reported on the contribution of entrepreneurs is encouraging:
1. Young companies (categorized as 6 years old and below) – account for 64 percent of new jobs in 2007 based on a 2009 survey by Kauffman Foundation
2. Gross job creation – startups account for 20% of gross job creations as researched by John Haltiwanger who is an economist at the University of Maryland.
While the numbers are encouraging, the rate of startup creation has not increased throughout the past two decades; Kaufmann reports that the number have stayed on the 500,000 mark.
Social Networking and the ease of putting up a virtual business has never been easy which could encourage people to go into entrepreneurship. However, large companies who have both the funds and machinery have invaded social networking sites like never before. Job hunters, recruitment agencies, and human resource departments have trolled social networking sites, making job applications, interviews, fast and easy. Company brand name, sign-up bonuses, promises of fast career track, topped with bot loads of marketing hoopla can instantly kill entrepreneurial spirit.
Game changing companies was, is and would always be built by entrepreneurial startups – Microsoft, SAP, Oracle, Google, Facebook, EBay, etc.
The world needs more entrepreneurs, and not MBAs who would most likely end up eaten and fighting for bureaucratic games in the corporate world. I couldn’t agree more.
