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As a response to my last post I got few interesting comments. Thanks for that! Rather than replying I would like to share a section out of the amazing HOW TO START AN ENTREPRENEURIAL REVOLUTION of Prof. Dan Isenberg (If you want to read it fully, buy a copy from the HBR site!). Daniel J. Isenberg is a professor of management practice at Babson College and executive
director of the Babson Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Project.
I maybe did not express myself as flawless as Prof. Isenberg, but what´s below is exactly what I meant. The full article is very, very recommended.
4: Favor the High Potentials.
Many programs
in emerging economies spread scarce
resources among quantities of bottom-of-thepyramid
ventures. And indeed, some of them,
such as the Carvajal Foundation in Cali, Colombia,
have dramatically increased income for segments
of the population. But focusing resources
there to the exclusion of high-potential
ventures is a crucial mistake.
In an era when microfinance for small-scale
entrepreneurs has become mainstream, the reallocation
of resources to support high-potential
entrepreneurs may seem elitist and inequitable.
But especially if resources are limited, programs
should try to focus first on ambitious, growthoriented
entrepreneurs who address large potential
markets.
The social economics of high-potential ventures
and small-scale employment alternatives
are significantly different. Whereas 500
microfinanced sole proprietorships and one
rapidly globalizing 500-person operation create
the same number of jobs, many experts
argue that the wealth creation, power to inspire
other start-ups, labor force enrichment,
and reputational value are much greater with
the latter. One organization that recognizes
this is Enterprise Ireland, an agency responsible
for supporting the growth of world-class
Irish companies. It has created a program specifically
to provide mentoring and financial
assistance to high-potential start-ups, which it
defines as ventures that are export-oriented,
are based on innovative technology, and can
generate at least 1 million in sales and 10 jobs
in three years. The global nonprofit Endeavor,
which focuses on entrepreneurship development
in 10 emerging economies, has to date
“adopted” some 440 “high-impact entrepreneurs,”
who, with Endeavor’s mentoring, are
turning their successes into role models for
their countrymen.
Not all high-potential ventures are technology
based; in fact, I’d argue that the majority
are not. SABIS is a perfect example. An educational
management organization founded in Lebanon many years ago as one school, SABIS
now is one of the world’s largest EMOs, teaching
more than 65,000 students in 15 countries,
with the goal of reaching 5 million students by
2020.
As a response to my last post I got few interesting comments. Thanks for that! Rather than replying I would like to share a section out of the amazing HOW TO START AN ENTREPRENEURIAL REVOLUTION of Prof. Dan Isenberg (If you want to read it fully, buy a copy from the HBR site!). Daniel J. Isenberg is a professor of management practice at Babson College and executive
director of the Babson Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Project.
I maybe did not express myself as flawless as Prof. Isenberg, but what´s below is exactly what I meant. The full article is very, very recommended.
4: Favor the High Potentials.
Many programs
in emerging economies spread scarce
resources among quantities of bottom-of-thepyramid
ventures. And indeed, some of them,
such as the Carvajal Foundation in Cali, Colombia,
have dramatically increased income for segments
of the population. But focusing resources
there to the exclusion of high-potential
ventures is a crucial mistake.
In an era when microfinance for small-scale
entrepreneurs has become mainstream, the reallocation
of resources to support high-potential
entrepreneurs may seem elitist and inequitable.
But especially if resources are limited, programs
should try to focus first on ambitious, growthoriented
entrepreneurs who address large potential
markets.
The social economics of high-potential ventures
and small-scale employment alternatives
are significantly different. Whereas 500
microfinanced sole proprietorships and one
rapidly globalizing 500-person operation create
the same number of jobs, many experts
argue that the wealth creation, power to inspire
other start-ups, labor force enrichment,
and reputational value are much greater with
the latter. One organization that recognizes
this is Enterprise Ireland, an agency responsible
for supporting the growth of world-class
Irish companies. It has created a program specifically
to provide mentoring and financial
assistance to high-potential start-ups, which it
defines as ventures that are export-oriented,
are based on innovative technology, and can
generate at least 1 million in sales and 10 jobs
in three years. The global nonprofit Endeavor,
which focuses on entrepreneurship development
in 10 emerging economies, has to date
“adopted” some 440 “high-impact entrepreneurs,”
who, with Endeavor’s mentoring, are
turning their successes into role models for
their countrymen.
Not all high-potential ventures are technology
based; in fact, I’d argue that the majority
are not. SABIS is a perfect example. An educational
management organization founded in Lebanon many years ago as one school, SABIS
now is one of the world’s largest EMOs, teaching
more than 65,000 students in 15 countries,
with the goal of reaching 5 million students by
2020.
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