What Entrepreneurship (and Intrapreneurship!) Really Means

You’re gonna need to know both to face the future workforce.

This post is presented in partnership with Monash Business School.

Thanks to Shark Tank, Dragons' Den and other reality shows with titles that describe dangerous animals in corporate meeting rooms, many of us think we know what it means to be an entrepreneur.

You’re probably already imagining someone in an ill-fitting suit seeking investment for their homemade "seatbelt for dogs" or "electric shock bracelet to break bad habits" (these are real, BTW).

And though at-home inventors and bedroom-businesspeople can be entrepreneurs, there’s way more to it than that.

In fact, as Monash Business School’s Director of Entrepreneurship, Professor David Gilbert, tells Student Edge, you can be an entrepreneur even within your regular workplace (you’re just called an intrapreneur instead).

But first: What actually is an entrepreneur?

Professor Gilbert describes an entrepreneur as "someone with a different mindset, who is able to challenge the status quo and find opportunities that are not always obvious."

Those people don’t necessarily need to have the skills to create an app, or weld together an invention. Really, they’re an ideas person with the business tools to turn that idea into a reality.

"An entrepreneur is someone who understands what they know and what they don’t know," he adds.

"So, they may have a great technological idea, but don't have the required expertise, knowledge or skills in that domain.

"From experience, I would also offer that entrepreneurs are self-directed, certifiably crazy individuals that willingly choose paths that others wouldn’t, in creating value that would not have existed without their ability and timing in bringing opportunity to life."

How many entrepreneurial ideas turn into viable business?

"Some entrepreneurs endure a lot of failure before they find success," says Professor Gilbert, though, he adds, others may "get it right the first time".

"It also comes down to each individual’s definition of what 'success' looks like. Is it purely monetary? A certain number of users? An exit or IPO? Or building a start-up and staying in it for life? If you fail, this does not mean you’re not a 'success' and you achieved nothing."

Only a rare few entrepreneurs wind up like Mark Zuckerberg, starting a business that changes the world (for better or worse) and staying on as CEO (again, for better or worse).

However, often the process of entrepreneurial thinking is what’s most valuable. You may use it to get a leg up in your own job hunt, giving you an edge when applying for a competitive role.

"The majority of our students will not go on to build their own businesses; most of them will end up working for someone, whether that’s in a large corporate or start-up," Professor Gilbert says.

"But their ability to be adaptable to any environment is paramount to their success, as that is what an entrepreneurial mindset arms you with."

Which brings us to intrapreneurship.

Intrapreneurship is basically when you do entrepreneurial things within an existing company.

More and more workplaces are looking for employees with entrepreneurial skills, as they bring with them creativity and innovation; adaptable 'human skills' that are in extreme demand, and will only remain so, even as automation takes over.

"Rather than [university] equipping them with a one-dimensional skillset that is only pertinent to a specific industry, they are capable of performing to a high level across a range of industries and organisations," Professor Gilbert adds.

"Intrapreneurs challenge the ‘this is how we do things around here’ mentality; they embrace and drive change that improves the way we work and how a company interacts with its key stakeholders.

"Intrapreneurs can operate on the edge, often transforming systems, processes, mindsets and ultimately organisational culture."

That's why, if you ever start your own business, you may want to hire similar creative thinkers and support them in their entrepreneurship to better foster intrapreneurship.

"Smart entrepreneurs tap into networks and build momentum through collaboration and this is a major part of what we are doing at Monash Business School: facilitating pipelines of opportunities," says Professor Gilbert.

Monash Business School is investing heavily in our students’ futures. We do not see limits; we see opportunities and know that our students are comparable to the very best in the world. Entrepreneurial mindsets and capabilities are about realizing a better future, one driven by knowledge and creativity and the willingness to act. So come join us on this journey; check out our offerings via our website monash.edu/business/future-students/entrepreneurship!

Header Image: iStock.com/FlamingoImages