The Definition of an Entrepreneur

Eric Schurenburg, editor of Inc.com, posted this interesting piece yesterday – “What’s an Entrepreneur? The Best Answer Ever”.

Some interesting quotes from HBS prof. Howard Stevenson:

• “Entrepreneurship is the pursuit of opportunity without regard to resources currently controlled.”
• “They see an opportunity and don’t feel constrained from pursuing it because they lack resources. They’re used to making do without resources.”

And an interesting quote from Jon Burgstone’s book, Breakthrough Entrepreneurship:

“Every time you want to make any important decision, there are two possible courses of action. You can look at the array of choices that present themselves, pick the best available option and try to make it fit. Or, you can do what the true entrepreneur does: Figure out the best conceivable option and then make it available.”

A thought I’ll add to this:

Entrepreneurs learn by trying and failing.  They not only don’t fear failure, they embrace it as a learning opportunity.

What do you think makes a great entrepreneur?