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Wiki Entrepreneur!
Welcome to wikientrepreneur.org--a class project and resource for Dr. Elliot McGucken's classes on entrepreneurship:
Artistsic Entrepreneurship & Technology 101
Hero's Journey Entrepreneurship Festival
Wikientrepreneur will officially launch in the fall of 2007!
What is entrepreneurship?
In seeking an answer, let us begin by turning to Benjamin Franklin--that original American entrepreneur; Joseph Schumpeter--one of the first economists to contemplate the value of entrepreneurship; and John C. Bogle--the author and entrepreneur who founded Vanguard based on his 1951 senior thesis at Princeton. Bogle salutes both Franklin and Schumpeter in a speech delivered to the Greater Philadelphia Venture Group entitled:Capitalism, Entrepreneurship, and Investing—The 18th Century vs. the 21st Century
'' Let's begin with Franklin's entrepreneurship. It was not only remarkable for his era; it was remarkable for any era. While in today's grandiose era of capitalism the word "entrepreneur" has come to be commonly associated with those who are motivated to create new enterprises largely by the desire for personal wealth or even greed, the fact is that entrepreneur simply means "one who undertakes an enterprise," a person who founds and directs an organization.
But at its best, entrepreneurship entails something far more important than mere money. Please do not take my word for it. Heed the words of the great Joseph Schumpeter, the first economist to recognize entrepreneurship as the vital force that drives economic growth. In his Theory of Economic Development, written nearly a century ago, Schumpeter dismissed material and monetary gain as the prime mover of the entrepreneur, finding motivations like these to be far more powerful: (1) "The joy of creating, of getting things done, of simply exercising one's energy and ingenuity," and (2) "The will to conquer: the impulse to fight, . . . to succeed for the sake, not of the fruits of success, but of success itself."
There is a difference, then, between an entrepreneur and a capitalist. Had Franklin possessed the soul of a true capitalist, "he would have devoted the time he saved from printing to making money somewhere else."1 But he did not. For Franklin, the getting of money was always a means to an end, not an end in itself. The other enterprises he created, as well as his inventions, were designed for the public weal, not for his personal profit. Even today, Dr. Franklin's idealistic 18th century version of entrepreneurship is inspirational.''
--from Capitalism, Entrepreneurship, and Investing—The 18th Century vs. the 21st Century
While youtube recently sold for $1.65 billion to google, the Lord of the Rings Movies together raked in around $3 billion at the box office. Factor in the millions upon millions of DVD sales, the hundreds of millions of books sold, and one comes to see that J.R.R. Tolkien was one of the greatest entrepreneurs ever, when it comes to creating enduring wealth.
While youtube received millions in venture capital, Tolkien never receieved a penny.
Also, while Mark Cuban points out that Youtube was built upon pirated content, J.R.R. Tolkien created the entire Lord of The Rings Trilogy himself.
So it is that MBA programs seeking to study entrepreneurship ought to begin by studying those long-term investors who create enduring wealth--investors such as Buffett, J.R.R. Tolkien, Benjamin Franklin, John Bogle, and Joseph Schumpeter. Homer's Odyssey has lasted over 2800 years via the integrity, character, and values it communicates--businesses leaders seeking to create enduring brands and long-term value would do well to study the classics--the same classics the Founding Fathers studied before penning the United States Constitution.
From the Foreword of Ben Franklin:
So much is known about Benjamin Franklin as founding father, framer, statesmen, scientist, philosopher, author, master of the epigram, and fount of earthly wisdom that it is a small wonder we have little room left for recognition of his talents as entrepreneur and businessman. This recognition is much needed and long overdue. With all of his other talents, this great patriot also qualifies as the first American entrepreneur. . . Perhaps the delay in the recognition of Franklin's entrepreneurial talent has arisen from a misunderstandng of what entrepreneurship is all about. While in today's grand era of capitalism the word "entrepreneur" has come to be commonly associated with those who are motivated to create new enterprises largely by the desire for personal wealth or even greed, the fact that the most basic defnition of entrepreneur is "one who undertakes an enterprise," a person who founds and directs an organization. --John C. Bogle, Founder and former chief executive of The Vanguard Group, from the Foreword of Ben Franklin:
Getting started
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