An adaptive style is necessary to see the perfect manager through these different stages. A healthy dose of being able to look at the business and one's style of objectively and make the needed changes is a key attribute of this perfect manager to oversee the professionalization and maturation process at a company (Magenta, 2014)
Further, Griffith was able to create growth at the company while maintaining a relatively flat structure, focused around a series of regional offices that served local markets, with only a limited amount of oversight from the head office. Zipcar basically built a franchise model that was familiar to larger firms in the industry, and in that respect Griffith had his exit strategy -- Zipcar was eventually sold for $500 million to Avis (Gara, 2013)
He grew the company by instituting effective management processes, to turn what was a promising idea into a profitable company. He was able to make several mergers that grew the company more rapidly than it perhaps would have otherwise, for example adding Flexcar to the stable of services (Gates, 2007)
The text points out that creativity and innovation are critical elements to entrepreneurship because the entrepreneur needs to be able to identify gaps in the market and to be able to implement an idea to address that gap. In the case of Zipcar, Griffith was able to identify that an increasing number of urban-dwellers were turning their backs on the version of the American dream that included car ownership (Kilcrease, 2011)
Historical Background Griffith was educated in mechanical engineering, not running a car-sharing business. Griffith has stated on many occasions that his engineering background was critical to developing the traits needed to succeed as an entrepreneur (Levitt, 2014)
As noted, it was the way o thinking that differentiated Zipcar within its industry and allowed it to be the most successful firm. An entrepreneur needs to have the ability to not only have a vision, but meet the different challenges that come with bringing that vision to fruition (Peavler, 2014)
This is something that often does not happen when a company reaches the venture capital stage in particular. The entrepreneur is often sidelined at that stage in favor of professional management, but Griffith was not only retained but later found himself in the venture capital business (Rao, 2014)
Over time, advances in production techniques, especially in agriculture gave rise to surpluses, which could then be traded. The barter of agricultural surplus in ancient communities can be said to be the first entrepreneurism (Allis, 2014)
Serial entrepreneurs typically engage in multiple start-ups and research has identified three different archetypes within this niche of entrepreneur -- the serial dealmaker, the venture repeaters and the organic serials. The study found, however that despite these differences even serial entrepreneurs tended to commit a lower level of their personal capital into their second venture compared with their first one (Wright, Robbie & Ennew, 1997)
Serial entrepreneurs typically engage in multiple start-ups and research has identified three different archetypes within this niche of entrepreneur -- the serial dealmaker, the venture repeaters and the organic serials. The study found, however that despite these differences even serial entrepreneurs tended to commit a lower level of their personal capital into their second venture compared with their first one (Wright, Robbie & Ennew, 1997)
These trades would have produced above subsistence level, marking a significant shift in the economic structure of society. Further development of the first coins contributed significantly to modern entrepreneurship by providing liquidity and cash flow, allowing for entrepreneurial enterprises to grow to very large levels never seen before (Harper, 2013)
It might take on certain characteristics of entrepreneurship, but not the key one, hence the concept is essentially bastardized in this understanding. Ultimately, most researchers feel that the attitudes towards risk are the defining characteristic of entrepreneurs (Cramer, Hartog & van Praag, 2002)
These individuals have gone on to become some of the greatest economic contributors in history, and this paper will examine the characteristics that define entrepreneurs. Today, there are an estimated 388 million entrepreneurs in the world (Kelley, Singer & Herrington, 2012)
Today, there are an estimated 388 million entrepreneurs in the world (Kelley, Singer & Herrington, 2012). Entrepreneurship is defined as 'carrying out new combinations, which may take the form of new products, processes, markets, organizational forms or sources of supply" (Sharma & Chrisman, 1999)
If there is outside capital, it is still the effort of the principle that drives the business, and the business itself still bears a high level of risk. Pursuit of employment in government or in a corporation does not usually entail the same degree of risk, in particular risk to one's livelihood, that entrepreneurism does, and that risk derives from the fact that the venture is new and the venture therefore lacks proven track record (Cuervo, Ribeiro & Roig, 2007)
Instead, they are replacing that boss with themselves, and in that they have a somewhat flawed understanding of what it means to be on your own. He argues that this creates situations where the entrepreneur is not really an entrepreneur -- only when they create businesses that work for them have they truly transitioned to becoming an entrepreneur (Ferriss, 2013)
Ideas such as these trait-based theories have given rise to entrepreneurship as a field within the social sciences, rather than business schools, in attempt to capture the essence of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship exists as a mechanism through which society finds ways to identify and remove economic inefficiency, which involves not only analytical skills but finding the means by which to exploit these gaps (Shane & Venkataraman, 2000)
Given that entrepreneurship is about the differential relationship with risk that entrepreneurs have, it is important to consider that entrepreneurs might see themselves as having the means by which that risk can be minimized. The entrepreneur differs from the manager not in that they both acquire and marshal resources to solve problems and meet strategic objectives, but in that the entrepreneur is not building from a foundation of stability -- they are essentially performing the same task in a much riskier milieu (Peteraf, 2011)
There are two ways to look at this. The first is that many of the same functions are performed -- the entrepreneur identifies and opportunity within the market and the corporation acts merely as a source of capital (Qiang, Jiang & Jian, 2009)
However, such an individual is also responsible for all the obligations the entity might accrue. One of the main advantages of a sole proprietorship is that in this case, the single owner does not share the profits generated by the business with any other individual (Madura, 2006)