News Releases

What Is An Entrepreneur and Who Wants to Be One?

Monday, November 12, 2007

By Frank Marshall

According to Wikipedia, an entrepreneur is a person who operates a new enterprise or venture and assumes some accountability for the inherent risks. The new and modern view on entrepreneurial talent is a person who takes the risks involved to undertake a business venture. In doing so, they are said to efficiently and effectively use the factors of production - land(natural resources), labor (human input) and capital (any type of production equipment). A business that can efficiently manage this and in the long-run hopefully expand (future prospects of larger firms and businesses), will become successful.

Entrepreneurs often have strong beliefs about a market opportunity and are willing to accept a high level of personal, professional or financial risk to pursue that opportunity. On November 5, over 220 students from the KU Business School had the opportunity to hear from and ask questions of four successful entrepreneurs. This event was sponsored by the KU Entrepreneurship Club.

The panel of entrepreneurs comprised Dan Henry, founder of Euronet; Robbin Renolds, founder and ceo of Sound Products; Dan Alcazar, Vice President of Marketing at Embarq; and Chuck Mackey, a commercial real estate developer.

After opening comments from the panelists, a lively discussion ensued with students asking a variety of questions, such as:

"Why did you undertake the entrepreneurial activity you did?"
"Who helped you get started and assisted you along the way?"
"How do you achieve a balanced life given the time, energy and attention required in your business?"

Wally Meyer, Director of Entrepreneurship Programs in the Business School, said that, "These panel discussions with people who are successful entrepreneurs are motivating for our students, and stimulate their interests and curiosity about possible entrepreneurial activities." Meyer went on to say, "Several panelists have become mentors to business school students, and they provide advice and counsel as students brainstorm and evaluate new, innovative business ideas. The panelists believe its rewarding for them personally and professionally to be so actively engaged with our students, and they enjoy helping our students learn about entrepreneurism from a real-world perspective. "

Business students with an entrepreneurial interest also are finding mentors from among their peers. Specifically, members of the Undergraduate Business Council (UBC) have volunteered to mentor entrepreneurship students in developing business plans for new ventures. Meyer commented that "The act of volunteering by the UBC members is wonderful, and it's so cool to see students mentoring and coaching other students. Everyone involved is having a great learning experience."

A total of 80 new venture business plans will be developed this semester, and all of these plans will be entered automatically in the "Mark L. Morris, Jr. New Venture Development Competition." This competition, sponsored by Morgan Creek Capital Management, is open to all undergraduate students, and the winner of the competition will receive a total of $7,200. "Mark Morris was a world-class veterinarian and entrepreneur, and we are very grateful to Morgan Creek for providing the financial support for this competition" said Meyer.

For more information on entrepreneurship programs in the School of Business, and the New Venture Development Competition, visit the KU Entrpreneurship Programs page.