One of my previous employers went and acquired a startup that had three employees and each had a C title. One was chief Organization Officer. What exactly are you organizing?!
Damned, I will change my LinkedIn profile; I didn't know it was sounding pompous :-)
For me, an "entrepreneur" (french word) is someone who undertake an "entreprise". An "entreprise" is not necessarily a company or a business. It is a kind of project. You could say that preparing a party or a wedding is an "entreprise".
For me it's always a huge red flag when somebody calls themselves an entrepreneur (or CEO of... themselves and their 1-person company). It indicates they care about the prestige and position rather than making things.
Amen. We need a word to distinguish someone who founds a startup with a brand new product nobody's ever seen before and aims for high growth from the person who opened a bakery on the corner. That word happens to be "entrepreneur" and I don't have a problem with someone making that distinction in conversation if used correctly.
Ironically, I have a problem with geeks using the word "silly" and "it's" when they mean "its", as OP did.
It's one of those words that somehow become a status symbol and lose their meaning.
Like, well, hacker: I cringe every time someone writes "hacker" in his/her bio without stuff to show for it. Usually it's UI developers, I don't know why.
All around, I started to discard every word that comes with this burden. Words should convey information, not a self blowjob.
"Entre" means between and "Preneur" means parts. A indirect english synonym would be middleman. Traditionally, it was referring to people in the building industry that set up building site with plumber, electrician, workers... So, a freelancer is not an entrepreneur. Strictly speaking if you don't have any employees you are not an entrepreneur.
That's interesting. So, it the U.S., we would call such a person a General Contractor. The person in the building industry who coordinates all the various building trades to get the building built.
Preneur comes from "prendre" which means to take. So a more literal translation would be an undertaker, not as someone who manages burials, but undertakes something.
(By the way an undertaker, would be translated as an "Entrepreneur de pompes funèbres" in French)
Don't stand corrected. The german word is Unternehmer which literally means "under-taker". This is probably not a coincidence and the french meaning is probably the same.
As a point of linguistic curiousity, would a more accurate literal translation be "one who undertakes", or perhaps "one who engages in", given the fairly specific meaning of "undertaker" in English?
is the era of startup culture, pseudo entrepreneurship, and the like finally coming to an end? Posts like this and Southpark regaling us at startup cultures expense...
Honest question: what should someone call themselves when they've started, for example, a restaurant, two software companies, and a property management firm?
A business owner? If you've found success, you own a lot of businesses. If you haven't, you own one even though you have started more than you currently have. You're still just a business owner.
"Business owner" implies they currently have sole or majority ownership in a business, but with many companies both big and small, multiple people have ownership stakes. Founders also often don't retain an ownership stake forever, since many businesses change ownership during their lifetimes, and others shut down.
So, in my example above, what if the person only retains a minority ownership stake in the restaurant, sold the two software companies, the property management company failed, and they are now working on a new company of any kind? Does "business owner" really accurately describe what they do?
Note that if you think this kind of example is unusual, in my experience it's relatively common for people who build companies to do so in different domains, either simultaneously or at different stages in their careers.
I'd call them a douche bag. Seriously this isn't something you want to advertise even if it's true. Stay down to earth and play down your successes especially if the person you're talking to is less successful then you.
Did Steve Jobs call himself a serial entrepreneur? True success advertises itself.
Funny, I had this discussion with a friend a few days ago. I see the term entrepreneur as a description of a persons character. I don't think you have to be a millionaire or even need big succes (yet).
If you're starting a few companies or projects, spend all your time, money and energy in those and try to generate money in creative ways; you're an entrepreneur.
Complaining about the word "entrepreneur" is itself a bit tacky, since for posers to annoy you that much, you must be spending too much time around them. In the US, it also seems to be a complaint exclusive to the software industry. I don't see anyone complaining about people who open storefronts using the word to describe themselves. And if someone starts businesses in multiple fields, what are they then?
Also, what about anyone who grew up in poverty, worked hard, and was the first person in their family to create a new business, like a bakery or a hair salon. Are they now also running the risk of getting ridiculed and having their accomplishments diminished if they use the word?
This really gets annoying to me too. I think the media is largely to blame for it. Every city with a kid who started a website is referred to as "Silicon <insert word that describes the local terrain>".
Likewise, they call every person with a blog an "entrepreneur". I think the reason it annoys me is because it gives people a false impression of what it means to start a real business at a time when we need more people to start businesses. They have unrealistic expectations, and end up getting turned off to the whole concept when it doesn't work out like in "The Social Network".
I am going to guess this is a silicon valley hang up because of people being funded. He kind of makes that point towards the end of the article. If you are someone who starts a business the traditional way, win or fail, I think you earned the right to be called an entrepreneur. You are taking a big risk which is scary and invigorating at the same time.
"I think you earned the right to be called an entrepreneur."
The problem is that most of the people who have "earned the right" wouldn't be caught dead calling themselves "entrepreneurs". My plumber is an entrepreneur, my doctor is an entrepreneur, and my accountant is an entrepreneur. They all call themselves "plumbers", "doctors", or "accountants". "Entrepreneur", in fact, doesn't seem to convey any actual information, at least in a what-do-you-do sense.
On the other hand, a person calling themselves an "entrepreneur" does tell me one thing: How they want me to view them. As far as I can tell, they want to be seen as someone who takes Big Risks in search of Big Rewards (even if they don't, or even if their idea of a business doesn't make any sense whatsoever).
I agree with you. Most people who own a business wouldn't call themselves an entrepreneur as a label. But they are entrepreneurs and would consider themselves one. I could be wrong but what I got from the article is that he wouldn't call these people entrepreneurs at all.
> Entrepreneur is the pinnacle of this to me, because it's very pronunciation makes it sound so... bourgeois... pompous.
Perhaps you spend too much time around those people who still pronounce "entrepreneur" with the "-pre-" sound in the middle, instead of the more Anglocized "entreneur". Not dropping that 5th syllable in the middle is what makes it sound so pompous.
Note: trying to impress your peers doesn't send invoices. Trying to perfect your linkedin page will not send invoices. Having an awesome title, awesome business cards, and an awesome email signature will not send invoices.
That being said, if sounding silly is what's stopping you from doing anything that has you sending invoices, take a printout of this article and light it on fire.
This article seems to do everything but suggest an alternative – what should I use instead?
If I have a small, bootstrapped company doing a few deals and with more in the pipeline, I think it should be fine to have the title "Entrepreneur". If this sounds pompous, what is a good alternative?
I'd love a proper English term for this. "Business builder" "Satisfier of consumer wants", "Employer", "Creator of value", I dunno. Answers on a postcard
72 comments
[ 4.7 ms ] story [ 140 ms ] threadUnless CEO means "Chief Everything Officer."
Organizing a good résumé.
For me, an "entrepreneur" (french word) is someone who undertake an "entreprise". An "entreprise" is not necessarily a company or a business. It is a kind of project. You could say that preparing a party or a wedding is an "entreprise".
Ironically, I have a problem with geeks using the word "silly" and "it's" when they mean "its", as OP did.
Like, well, hacker: I cringe every time someone writes "hacker" in his/her bio without stuff to show for it. Usually it's UI developers, I don't know why.
All around, I started to discard every word that comes with this burden. Words should convey information, not a self blowjob.
"Entre" means between and "Preneur" means parts. A indirect english synonym would be middleman. Traditionally, it was referring to people in the building industry that set up building site with plumber, electrician, workers... So, a freelancer is not an entrepreneur. Strictly speaking if you don't have any employees you are not an entrepreneur.
(By the way an undertaker, would be translated as an "Entrepreneur de pompes funèbres" in French)
So, in my example above, what if the person only retains a minority ownership stake in the restaurant, sold the two software companies, the property management company failed, and they are now working on a new company of any kind? Does "business owner" really accurately describe what they do?
Note that if you think this kind of example is unusual, in my experience it's relatively common for people who build companies to do so in different domains, either simultaneously or at different stages in their careers.
Did Steve Jobs call himself a serial entrepreneur? True success advertises itself.
If you're starting a few companies or projects, spend all your time, money and energy in those and try to generate money in creative ways; you're an entrepreneur.
Also, what about anyone who grew up in poverty, worked hard, and was the first person in their family to create a new business, like a bakery or a hair salon. Are they now also running the risk of getting ridiculed and having their accomplishments diminished if they use the word?
Likewise, they call every person with a blog an "entrepreneur". I think the reason it annoys me is because it gives people a false impression of what it means to start a real business at a time when we need more people to start businesses. They have unrealistic expectations, and end up getting turned off to the whole concept when it doesn't work out like in "The Social Network".
And no, if you're working on a cool project/idea that no one is using, that still doesn't make you an entrepreneur.
The problem is that most of the people who have "earned the right" wouldn't be caught dead calling themselves "entrepreneurs". My plumber is an entrepreneur, my doctor is an entrepreneur, and my accountant is an entrepreneur. They all call themselves "plumbers", "doctors", or "accountants". "Entrepreneur", in fact, doesn't seem to convey any actual information, at least in a what-do-you-do sense.
On the other hand, a person calling themselves an "entrepreneur" does tell me one thing: How they want me to view them. As far as I can tell, they want to be seen as someone who takes Big Risks in search of Big Rewards (even if they don't, or even if their idea of a business doesn't make any sense whatsoever).
Perhaps you spend too much time around those people who still pronounce "entrepreneur" with the "-pre-" sound in the middle, instead of the more Anglocized "entreneur". Not dropping that 5th syllable in the middle is what makes it sound so pompous.
That being said, if sounding silly is what's stopping you from doing anything that has you sending invoices, take a printout of this article and light it on fire.
If I have a small, bootstrapped company doing a few deals and with more in the pipeline, I think it should be fine to have the title "Entrepreneur". If this sounds pompous, what is a good alternative?
So what do we use instead? Founder? co-founder?
I'd love a proper English term for this. "Business builder" "Satisfier of consumer wants", "Employer", "Creator of value", I dunno. Answers on a postcard
Get over it: this word, entrepreneur, is the definition of what we are doing ( taking risks, becoming self-employed, building an entreprise ).
Excuse me now, I am going to eat my lunch in a eatery, the restaurants are for the bourgeoisie.