tag:theconversation.com,2011:/global/topics/entrepreneurship-16037/articlesEntrepreneurship – The Conversation2024-03-20T15:56:09Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2260362024-03-20T15:56:09Z2024-03-20T15:56:09ZMumpreneurs: a growing entrepreneurial force in Chinese society<p>While much ink has been poured over China’s economic growth in recent decades, the contributions of Chinese women often receive less attention. With the pressure of the <a href="https://www.ined.fr/en/publications/editions/population-and-societies/china-s-new-three-child-policy-what-effects-can-we-expect/">“three-child policy”</a>, being a mother isn’t a mere personal choice, it’s a part of national demographic strategy. To navigate their lives, many Chinese mothers are now turning to what has been referred to as “mumpreneurship”. A January 2024 search for “妈妈创业” (the term in Chinese) showed 69.9 million results on Baidu, China’s primary search engine, compared to just 2.6 million English results on Google.</p>
<p>The term <em>mompreneur</em> was coined in 1996 by Patricia Cobe and Ellen Parlapiano, two entrepreneurs who caught global attention with a <a href="http://www.mompreneursonline.com/">website</a> and <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/624570.Patricia_Cobe">books</a> on the theme. Unlike <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016718510001284">female entrepreneurs</a>, mumpreneurs are motivated to achieve work-life harmony by merging the identities of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0266242611435182">motherhood and business ownership</a>. It’s typical to observe the boundaries of two roles blurring.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.openedition.org/travailemploi/10041/">Prior research</a> indicates that the mumpreneurs movement has its roots in the United States in the 1990s, and that it saw further growth in France in the 2000s, as the Internet gained strength. The researchers defined it as a “feminised form of non-salaried work, in which independence is considered the ideal way to combine work and family.”</p>
<h2>Mumpreneurship in China</h2>
<p>Our ongoing research focuses on mumpreneurs in Chinese urban areas. We find that most are between the ages of 31 and 45, resourceful, educated and digitally savvy. Chinese women’s age at first birth is getting older, <a href="https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202302/1285983.shtml">30.36 in Shanghai in 2022</a>. According to a <a href="https://www.199it.com/archives/1418770.html">2022 Chinese Female Entrepreneurs Research Report</a>, women start their businesses at a young age, 36% before 30, 50% between 31 to 40.</p>
<p>Covid-19 has played a key role in driving the growth of mumpreneurship. Many parents are stepping back from the corporate life due to the economic downturn in China. Mumpreneurs are most commonly found in urban regions such as Beijing, Shanghai and Great Bay area, notably Shenzhen, where robust support networks and resources exist. Preferred sectors are children’s education and social services, HR consulting, psychotherapy consulting, and beauty-related industries. Businesses typically have small teams of no more than 10. Many of their leaders actively engage and enjoy the popularity on social media like TikTok and Xiaohongshu. One of our interviewees, DanDan, has pioneered a <a href="http://xhslink.com/ARVTnC">“divorced companion mumpreneurial business model”</a> (离婚搭子创业 in Chinese) in education and social-media marketing services that has received significant attention. She and her business partner have recently been invited to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb7MlUvMNhs"><em>Super Diva</em></a>, a show spotlighting Chinese mothers from diverse backgrounds.</p>
<p>Contrary to the promise of work-life balance, Chinese mumpreneurs are driven and <a href="https://new.qq.com/rain/a/20231205A054G400">relentlessly self-improving</a> and are often sleep-deprived. Support can come from a range of source, including their partner, parents, paid services such as nannies, cleaners and drivers, and sometimes company employees. Office and family space are frequently within walking distance or even overlapping.</p>
<p>As in other Asian countries, K–12 education in China is highly competitive. Chinese mothers are often perceived to face triple expectation from the society, family, and themselves, while Chinese fathers can have more leniency. Our study reveals that when it comes to education, some Chinese mumpreneurs disagree with both 鸡娃 (Ji Wa) <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/09/06/1024804523/forget-tiger-moms-now-chinas-chicken-blood-parents-are-pushing-kids-to-succeed">Chicken Blood parenting</a> and traditional laissez-faire motherhood. Instead, they believe in a spiritual maternal role, working to strengthen the emotional and personal construction of their children. Annie, a mumpreneur who works in human resources, remarked:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I disagree with cramming, stressful, and result-oriented education. It’s essential for me to nurture my son’s capacity for happiness. It pains me to witness the prevalence of depression among Chinese children.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While mumpreneurs value motherhood, for them it doesn’t consistently rank as the top priority. Instead, there’s unanimous agreement on the importance of prioritising the “me” as an individual, encompassing financial, physical, and mental self-care. Additionally, there’s a recurring theme indicating that a woman’s awakening process is influenced by her education and the duration of her marriage. As for the role of “wife”, it’s often optional, and many mumpreneurs are single, divorced or cohabiting with partners to whom they are not married.</p>
<h2>A social movement</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www-annualreviews-org.em-lyon.idm.oclc.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-polisci-052615-025801">rise of a social movement</a> is primarily facilitated by three key factors: more chances to influence politics, support networks, and shaping public opinion through messages. In China, the government has been making a strategic push to compensate for the country’s <a href="https://chinapower.csis.org/china-demographics-challenges/">demographic challenges</a>, which will become increasingly acute in the coming years. The country’s “one-child policy” was established in 1980, and it took more than a quarter-century to transit to the “two-child policy”, enacted in 2016. Less than five years later, the “three-child policy” came into force in 2021.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">“China pushes three-child policy” (NBC News).</span></figcaption>
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<p>The increasing female power in China is another catalyst for the mumpreneurship movement. Since 1949, there has been remarkable progress in the economic, educational, and health status of Chinese women. The changing social perceptions could be sensed in the language used to describe them, from 大婶 (Aunty) to 爷 (Ye) meaning lord or master, and 女王 (Nu Wang) meaning queen. Women are being progressively liberated from the expectation of a life centred on supporting her family, children, and husband. Women in China are embracing more diverse values and contributing to a more inclusive society.</p>
<p>The support ecosystem for mumpreneurs has matured. These include the <a href="http://mqcy.cwdf.org.cn/">“@SHE Entrepreneur Plan”</a>, which is operated by the China Women’s Development Foundation. It has grown increasingly influential over the last 28 years and now covers more than 20 provinces. At the grassroots level, <a href="https://www.huxiu.com/article/37107.html">mumpreneur communities</a> are spreading with the help of social media. Interesting examples include Lamabang.net.com, Babytree.com (a sort of Facebook for parents and kids), ci123.com and 研究生 Yan Jiu Sheng (which highlights research on pregnancy).</p>
<p>Given their presence, our study mainly focuses on the mumpreneurs in urban areas. Given that the country’s spatial disparity, future research could explore mumpreneurship in rural areas. This may reveal differences in entrepreneurial motivation, motherhood definition, social capital and social networking.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Special thanks to Chen Liu (DBA candidate from Durham University and EM Lyon Business School) and Hanrui Liu (MSc in international marketing and business development, EM Lyon Business School) for their contributions to the ongoing research project.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226036/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Xiong ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>With the pressure of China’s “three-child policy”, many women are motivated to achieve work-life harmony by merging the identities of motherhood and business ownership.Lisa Xiong, Associate Professor in Strategy & Organization, EM Lyon Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2224862024-02-19T13:42:23Z2024-02-19T13:42:23Z‘Benevolent sexism’ in startups widens the gender gap by advantaging men over women<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575448/original/file-20240213-16-zum5sf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C16%2C3578%2C2376&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It is not enough to remove the unfair barriers holding women back; we also need to confront the unfair privileges propelling men forward.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Women continue to face barriers in entrepreneurship, with <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/women-entrepreneurship-strategy/en">only 17 per cent of small and medium-sized businesses being owned by women in Canada</a>. </p>
<p>To address this issue, the Canadian government has introduced the <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/women-entrepreneurship-strategy/en/women-entrepreneurship-strategy-progress-report-2022">Women Entrepreneurship Strategy</a>. This strategy seeks to address the gender gap and biases in the Canadian venture capital system. </p>
<p>However, our understanding of the challenges women face in the startup ecosystem is limited. Past research has focused on overt <a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/10.5465/amj.2016.1215">negative sexist attitudes that question women’s competence and suitability for entrepreneurship</a>.</p>
<p>This view overlooks the existence of more subtle, yet pervasive and socially acceptable, sexist attitudes that often go unnoticed. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2016.10.005">Given the sheer number of people interested or working in startups today</a>, from investors to suppliers to job applicants, the effects of these subtle forms of sexism can accumulate across a large and diverse group of decision-makers.</p>
<p>For initiatives tackling gender inequality in entrepreneurship to be effective, we must gain a deeper understanding of the effects of these subtle biases faced by women entrepreneurs.</p>
<h2>Benevolent sexism in entrepreneurship</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.491">Benevolent sexism</a> is a form of bias that, on the surface, appears to be positive toward women, but ultimately reinforces gender roles and entrenches inequality.</p>
<p>Unlike overtly hostile forms of discrimination, benevolent sexism manifests in seemingly harmless beliefs. This type of sexism often portrays women as delicate or in need of protection, while men are positioned as the providers and protectors. </p>
<p>Because benevolent sexism is often expressed in ways that seem positive, it is rarely challenged by either men or women. It can serve to maintain traditional gender dynamics by creating the illusion of support for women while still restricting their autonomy. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A figure of a woman standing on a stack of coins with a plastic cup placed over it. Beside it is a figure of a man standing on a taller stack of coins." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575439/original/file-20240213-16-l8bgb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575439/original/file-20240213-16-l8bgb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575439/original/file-20240213-16-l8bgb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575439/original/file-20240213-16-l8bgb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575439/original/file-20240213-16-l8bgb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575439/original/file-20240213-16-l8bgb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575439/original/file-20240213-16-l8bgb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Benevolent sexism often portrays women as delicate or in need of protection, while men are positioned as the providers and protectors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In particular, research shows that benevolent sexism <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310365902">undermines women at work and results in them holding fewer positions of power in organizations</a>. The startup ecosystem is particularly fertile ground for this kind of sexism to manifest and worsen over time.</p>
<p>Since <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/women-entrepreneurship-strategy/en">women are more underrepresented in entrepreneurship than in traditional organizations</a>, startup evaluators are careful not to act on overt sexist attitudes. This, in turn, gives room for more subtle forms of bias to emerge.</p>
<h2>Benevolent sexism advantages men</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587231178865">recent research paper</a> examined how benevolent sexism affects how evaluators judge woman- and man-led startups.</p>
<p>Initially, we theorized that startup evaluators with benevolent sexist views would more likely to rate women-led startups as less viable (i.e., more likely to fail). We did not expect their evaluation of men’s startups to be affected at all. </p>
<p>To test this hypothesis, we conducted three studies where participants were tasked with evaluating a hypothetical early-stage startup founded by either a man or a woman. Both entrepreneurs in our scenarios had identical qualifications and startup ideas.</p>
<p>The results from all three studies found that the more evaluators endorsed benevolent sexist beliefs, the more positively they judged men-led startups. There was no impact on the evaluation of women-led startups. This finding was the same, regardless of whether the evaluators themselves were men or women, in two out of the three studies.</p>
<h2>Addressing unwarranted advantages</h2>
<p>Our findings call for a fundamental rethinking of what attaining true equity entails. It is not enough to remove the unfair barriers holding women back; we also need to confront the unfair privileges propelling men forward. </p>
<p>This suggests that common solutions for addressing gender inequities are not sufficient. They mostly focus on barriers that women face, while ignoring the unwarranted advantages afforded to men. Such common solutions include focus on <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43822387">women’s education, mentoring and networking</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two sets of hands giving a thumbs down gesture and two sets of hands giving a thumbs up gesture" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575438/original/file-20240213-30-fhc5u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/575438/original/file-20240213-30-fhc5u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575438/original/file-20240213-30-fhc5u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575438/original/file-20240213-30-fhc5u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575438/original/file-20240213-30-fhc5u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575438/original/file-20240213-30-fhc5u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/575438/original/file-20240213-30-fhc5u2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The study results found that benevolent sexism unfairly favours men-led startups.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To effectively address the gender gap in entrepreneurship, we need to raise awareness about the hidden effects of benevolent sexism. This could be done through education and training of entrepreneurs, mentors and investors. Such interventions could communicate to these stakeholders that while benevolent sexism seems positive it is actually harmful.</p>
<p>Further, we need to redesign the startup evaluation process. The current ambiguous and unstructured conditions of startups allow subtle biases to emerge. </p>
<p>To address this issue, we need clearly defined and transparent criteria for evaluating startups. Indeed, past research shows that creating <a href="https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2014.0950">clear structure, transparency and accountability in evaluation processes</a> are critical for reducing biased decision-making.</p>
<h2>Fix the system, not women</h2>
<p>Our research challenges traditional interventions that solely address overt sexist attitudes towards women. Many interventions suggest that women need to change. </p>
<p>For example, women are advised to <a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2016.1215">change their communication and negotiation styles</a>. They are also advised to venture into more <a href="https://doi.org/10.1287/stsc.2022.0170">masculine and higher profile industries</a>.</p>
<p>Such advice overlooks the advantages men receive. As our research demonstrates, even when women have identical qualifications and ideas, men-led startups are seen as more promising. Moreover, well-intended initiatives designed to address gender gaps in entrepreneurship may <a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2017.0087">backfire since they signal women need help, which propagates a benevolent sexist tone</a>.</p>
<p>This calls <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6520.2006.00138.x">for fixing the system rather than fixing women</a>. We need to address gender inequity by examining and changing evaluators’ attitudes and behaviours, as opposed to encouraging women to change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222486/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nhu Nguyen received funding from the Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ivona Hideg's research has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yuval Engel received funding from The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Frederic Godart does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For Canada’s new Women Entrepreneurship Strategy to be effective, we must gain a deeper understanding of sexism in startup spaces.Nhu Nguyen, PhD Ccandidate in Management, McGill UniversityFrederic Godart, Associate Professor, Organizational Behavior, INSEADIvona Hideg, Associate Professor and Ann Brown Chair in Organization Studies, York University, CanadaYuval Engel, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, University of AmsterdamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2223422024-02-14T16:53:54Z2024-02-14T16:53:54ZCanada’s entrepreneur shortage is impacting the economy — here’s one way to fix it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573166/original/file-20240203-29-f3bec9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=482%2C30%2C4606%2C2820&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">To build more small- and medium-sized businesses, and create more jobs in turn, Canada needs to create more entrepreneurs. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Business Development Canada made headlines in October 2023 when it revealed that almost <a href="https://www.bdc.ca/en/about/mediaroom/news-releases/nearly-half-as-many-people-are-launching-businesses-as-20-years-ago">half as many Canadians are starting businesses today</a> compared to 20 years ago. </p>
<p>This is alarming, as the vast majority of jobs in Canada — <a href="https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/1253-small-and-medium-businesses-driving-large-sized-economy">98 per cent</a> — are created by small business entrepreneurs. The health of our economy is built on the backbone of these enterprises. </p>
<p>To build more small- and medium-sized businesses, and create more jobs in turn, Canada needs to create more entrepreneurs. </p>
<p>My <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2023.106326">recent study with my colleagues Shasha Liu and Brock Smith</a> at the University of Victoria offers a way forward. Our study reveals that instilling an entrepreneur-possible self — the belief that you can become an entrepreneur — is a critical stepping stone for becoming an entrepreneur. And, it’s one we can encourage to form.</p>
<h2>Daydreaming reality into being</h2>
<p>Each of us carries a constellation of possible selves within us. These possible selves play a crucial role in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.41.9.954">shaping the actual identities we assume</a>. </p>
<p>If we don’t develop an entrepreneur-possible self, we are unlikely to develop the mindset that fosters entrepreneurship. Historically, most Canadians never consider becoming an entrepreneur and, of those who do, <a href="https://www.gemconsortium.org/reports/latest-global-report">most never actually take the leap</a>.</p>
<p>Our study <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2023.106326">highlights some easy ways to foster the development of this entrepreneur-possible self</a>. What’s needed is identity play — the provisional “trying-on” of a future entrepreneur-possible self. Specifically, two types of identity play: daydream-play and substantive-play.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman, sitting in front of a computer screen, rests her chin against her hands while starting off into the distance" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574212/original/file-20240207-26-juwr5b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/574212/original/file-20240207-26-juwr5b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574212/original/file-20240207-26-juwr5b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574212/original/file-20240207-26-juwr5b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574212/original/file-20240207-26-juwr5b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574212/original/file-20240207-26-juwr5b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/574212/original/file-20240207-26-juwr5b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Most Canadians never consider becoming an entrepreneur and, of those who do, most never actually take the leap.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Daydream-play involves envisioning an entrepreneur self through unrestricted thought exercises and imaginings. It’s about letting your mind freely wander through creative musings, wondering, considering and thinking. </p>
<p>Substantive-play involves physically acting to learn more about the possibility of being an entrepreneur. This is an active form of play focused on actions such as trying things out, looking into things and observing or learning new things related to entrepreneurship. </p>
<p>Alternating between these two types of play can ultimately lead to an aspirational stage that is critical to forming an entrepreneur identity.</p>
<h2>Creating entrepreneur-possible selves</h2>
<p>For many of us, the pandemic fuelled personal reflections on the meaning, purpose and impact of our careers and vocations, resulting in what Harvard business professor Ranjay Gulati has called the “<a href="https://fortune.com/2022/03/08/great-resignation-careers-rethink-labor-shortage-pandemic-work-ranjay-gulati/">Great Re-think</a>.”</p>
<p>This period of reflection serves as a prime opportunity for individuals to work on developing an entrepreneur-possible self.</p>
<p>One way individuals can do this is by engaging in daydream-play to imagine the entrepreneur they could become. This can involve, for example, reading <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/22754.Business_Biographies_and_Memoirs">biographies of entrepreneurs</a>, listening to <a href="https://wondery.com/shows/how-i-built-this/">podcasts with or about successful entrepreneurs</a> or watching <a href="https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/80202462">movies about entrepreneurial journeys</a>.</p>
<p>As a form of substantive-play, individuals can tap existing entrepreneur networks and <a href="https://eocanada.com">meet with or shadow entrepreneurs</a>, play tabletop or <a href="https://www.simcompanies.com/">virtual games</a> that simulate building companies, work or volunteer at a startup, or conduct industry or opportunity-specific research that leverages a personal curiosity, interest or passion.</p>
<p>Since entrepreneurial journeys are seldom solitary endeavours, aspiring entrepreneurs can also reach out to organizations that support entrepreneurship (like the <a href="https://chamber.ca/">Canadian Chamber of Commerce</a> or <a href="https://www.futurpreneur.ca/en">Futurepreneur</a> for guidance and mentorship. These organizations can provide valuable insights, networking opportunities and resources.</p>
<h2>Entrepreneurship support organizations</h2>
<p>Organizations that are part of the entrepreneur ecosystem, like <a href="https://www.innovatingcanada.ca/">Innovating Canada</a>, <a href="https://www.startupcan.ca">Startup Canada</a> and the <a href="https://www.ccsbe.org">Canadian Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship</a>, also should ensure working-age individuals have opportunities to explore and build their entrepreneur-possible selves.</p>
<p>These organizations should start by educating Canadians about the identity play process. To encourage more focused daydream-play, these organizations can create resources for exploring entrepreneurship as a career, provide access to success stories and create an accessible database of entrepreneurs willing to have conversations with those interested in learning more. </p>
<p>They can support substantive-play by developing an active mentoring program that goes beyond passive advice-giving to provide individuals a chance to shadow successful entrepreneurs. Establishing positive and meaningful mentor-mentee connections will help to cultivate an aspirational entrepreneur possible self.</p>
<p>Lastly, these organizations can create opportunities for hands-on experience by hosting or promoting hackathons, short-sprint entrepreneurship competitions, pitch events, maker spaces and side-hustle experiences. They can also begin providing coaches to create individualized action plans.</p>
<h2>Today’s youth are tomorrow’s entrepreneurs</h2>
<p>To ensure a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem, parents, guardians and teachers play a pivotal role in providing children with opportunities to practice being an entrepreneur that establish entrepreneur-possible selves. </p>
<p>Across the country, there are many entrepreneurship classes, <a href="https://www.camps.ca/entrepreneurship-camps.php">summer camps</a> and entrepreneurship youth experiences that foster daydream and substantive-play in children, including the UVIC Gustavson School of Business’ <a href="https://www.kidovate.ca/">Kidovate program</a>.</p>
<p>By nurturing micro-entrepreneurship experiences for youth from an early age, we are sowing the seeds for a generation that will grow up thinking “I could be an entrepreneur” which is key to becoming one.</p>
<p>The takeaway is clear: building more opportunities for Canadians to create entrepreneur-possible selves will result in more Canadians who think and act based on believing they are entrepreneurs. It is an investment in the nation’s future that will contribute to Canada’s economic prosperity and its competitiveness on the global stage.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/222342/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Claudia Smith does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A new study reveals that instilling an entrepreneur-possible self — the belief that you can become an entrepreneur — is a critical stepping stone for becoming an entrepreneur.Claudia Smith, Assistant Professor, Gustavson School of Business, University of VictoriaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2209702024-02-05T23:35:20Z2024-02-05T23:35:20ZHow entrepreneurship education can be more inclusive<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573150/original/file-20240202-15-ub3pui.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C104%2C5383%2C2868&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">When entrepreneurship programs do consider inclusion, most focus on gender without considering age, ethnicity, race or other identity factors.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Organizations with resources to <a href="https://telfer.uottawa.ca/assets/documents/2019/5515_TELFER-Orser-Inclusive-Innovation-report_0419_final-aoda.pdf">support entrepreneurs often overlook their own organizational roles in amplifying stereotypes</a> of entrepreneurs <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0266242612453933">as primarily masculine</a>, white and technology-focused. </p>
<p>Globally, <a href="https://www.galidata.org/assets/report/pdf/accelarating_women_led_startups_final.pdf">women are less likely to benefit from entrepreneurship education and training</a>, particularly in programs supporting high-growth enterprises. When entrepreneurship programs do consider inclusion, most focus on gender without considering age, ethnicity, race or other identity factors. </p>
<p>From an economic development perspective, the effectiveness and inclusivity of entrepreneurship programs is important as <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2012/statcan/11-626-x/11-626-x2012011-eng.pdf">new businesses account for most net job creation</a>. </p>
<p>Entrepreneurial training <a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2015.0026">is associated with entrepreneurial intentions, inspiration, tolerance of ambiguity and business start-ups</a>. Many people will be self-employed in their careers. For these reasons, entrepreneurship education is everyone’s business.</p>
<p>Our research is concerned with equipping entrepreneurship educators with resources to identify biases within programs to support all learners.</p>
<h2>Framework to analyze barriers</h2>
<p>We collaborated on research about entrepreneurship programs with an international team including: <a href="https://publichealth.jhu.edu/faculty/635/anita-vernekar-shankar">Anita Shankar</a>, a medical anthropologist who examines impacts of psycho-social interventions in resource-poor settings in the Global South; <a href="https://www.babson.edu/about/our-leaders-and-scholars/faculty-and-academic-divisions/faculty-profiles/candida-brush.php">Candida Brush</a>, a professor of entrepreneurship; and <a href="https://entrepreneurship.babson.edu/amanda-elam-women-entrepreneurs/">Amanda Elam</a>, a sociologist and research fellow in the area of gender and entrepreneurship.</p>
<p>Our team developed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-12-2020-0378">a framework to support</a> a toolkit for inclusive entrepreneurship education and training called the <a href="https://geet.uottawa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/ORSER-IEET_Accessible-report_eng.pdf">Gender-Smart Entrepreneurship Education and Training Plus (GEET+) 2.0</a>. The “plus” refers to extending a gender equity lens to <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-intersectionality-all-of-who-i-am-105639">consider intersectional</a> identity factors (like race, ethnicity, religion, age, education, sexual orientation, culture, income, language and mental or physical disability). </p>
<p>The toolkit also profiles lessons learned from a systematic review of literature about entrepreneurship education and highlights barriers that marginalized and underrepresented people encounter in entrepreneurship programs.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-mba-programs-can-remove-disability-related-barriers-176651">How MBA programs can remove disability-related barriers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Biases in education</h2>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="A person seen with a microphone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573149/original/file-20240202-27-9c2est.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/573149/original/file-20240202-27-9c2est.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=658&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573149/original/file-20240202-27-9c2est.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=658&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573149/original/file-20240202-27-9c2est.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=658&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573149/original/file-20240202-27-9c2est.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=827&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573149/original/file-20240202-27-9c2est.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=827&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/573149/original/file-20240202-27-9c2est.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=827&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Most students cannot name entrepreneurial leaders in their own countries, particularly women leaders.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Henri Mathieu Saint Laurent)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Scholars caution that there is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2515127420935444">a need to critically examine entrepreneurship education and training</a>. </p>
<p>Research, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-12-2020-0378">studies conducted at Telfer School of Management</a>, University of Ottawa, document biases in entrepreneurship education programming. </p>
<p>When students around the world are asked to name an entrepreneur, from Jordan to Canada, most cite an American, male, tech icon. Most cannot name <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/IJGE-04-2020-0048">entrepreneurial leaders in their own countries, particularly women leaders</a>.</p>
<h2>19 countries and EDI entrepreneurship education</h2>
<p>Our research found an absence of policies and criteria associated with equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in entrepreneurship education and training. </p>
<p>We also learned that many educators and trainers seek guidance to enhance inclusion in entrepreneurship programming, and that they define “inclusion” and “diversity” in different ways. </p>
<p>We asked a 19-country panel of entrepreneurship educators to reflect on
entrepreneurship programming. We wanted to know: </p>
<ul>
<li>How inclusive it is? </li>
<li>How do they perceive the need for change? </li>
<li>What are barriers pertaining to culture, gender and entrepreneurial identities, and indicators characterizing inclusive programming? </li>
</ul>
<p>The first of three online surveys included questions related to the challenges people see with enrolling and engaging students from underrepresented or marginalized groups. </p>
<p>While some respondents said there were no problems, others identified multiple challenges seen in processes, program content and outcomes. We learned that how educators perceive who is or is not under-represented in entrepreneurship programs is context-specific. For example, Argentinian entrepreneur educators identified low-income people as “the most marginalized in Argentina.” Educators in the United States tended to discuss ethnicity when speaking about equity and who is marginalized, while German educators described how German-language programs excluded migrants.</p>
<p>Overall, a key finding was that EDI initiatives have generally not reached entrepreneurship programs. </p>
<p>Several panelists cautioned about assuming commonalities or homogeneity within groups. </p>
<h2>The framework</h2>
<p>The toolkit helps educators assess seven content areas of their programs: commitment to inclusive education and training; knowledge and expertise about equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI); access to resources; program design; program development; program delivery; and program evaluation.</p>
<p>Each component of the framework was tested in <a href="https://geet.uottawa.ca/wp-content/reactpress/apps/react-geet/build/resources/National-Louis-University-Master-in-Design-Thinking-and-Entrepreneurship.pdf">settings in the United States</a> <a href="https://geet.uottawa.ca/wp-content/reactpress/apps/react-geet/build/resources/Invest-Ottawa.pdf">and Canada</a>.</p>
<p>All organizations used the toolkit to assess the status of programs and identify program service or inclusion gaps. Some found the toolkit helpful in legitimizing efforts to incorporate EDI efforts with organizational leaders and funders. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/entrepreneurship-learning-all-university-students-can-benefit-172585">Entrepreneurship learning: All university students can benefit</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UK7e8yuSSiw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Roundtable about the GEET+ framework.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Developing common understanding, goals</h2>
<p>Educators from larger organizations emphasized the value of engaging experts in EDI through workshops and team discussions. They developed common understandings of equity and inclusion issues within entrepreneurship education and training. </p>
<p>In some organizations, assessment processes led to team building and ultimately, to program changes. </p>
<p>Some entrepreneurship programs defined knowledge and expertise requirements (such as hiring trainers with lived experiences of specific underserved communities) and gaining clarity about resources and leadership commitments required to reform programs.</p>
<p>To learn more, the toolkit including framework and assessment criteria can be downloaded at the <a href="https://geet.uottawa.ca/">University of Ottawa</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/220970/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barbara Jayne Orser receives funding from SSHRC.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Elliott does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A toolkit for inclusive entrepreneurship education and training was developed with input from a 19-country panel of entrepreneurship educators.Barbara Jayne Orser, Professor Emerita, Telfer School of Management, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaCatherine Elliott, Adjunct Professor, Telfer School of Management, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of OttawaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2188752023-12-20T16:05:48Z2023-12-20T16:05:48ZTeaching prisoners to start businesses can help them return to society<p>When people are released from prison back into society, they can find themselves in an unknown world for which they are <a href="https://online.simmons.edu/blog/prisoner-reentry/">ill-equipped</a>. They need stability and security to get their lives back on track – yet often have nowhere to go. They also <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-education-a-review-of-reading-education-in-prisons/prison-education-a-review-of-reading-education-in-prisons">tend to lack</a> basic literacy and numeracy, which makes it unlikely they will find work.</p>
<p>Prisoners attend various orientation programmes intended to help them with things like housing, finances, transport and employment. Surprisingly, however, there isn’t typically a programme in the UK to help them to become entrepreneurs.</p>
<p>In fact, ex-prisoners are well suited to setting up businesses. They tend to show many <a href="https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/sea2.12103?casa_token=PBoPotqavvAAAAAA%3Aok0dQtJ9BdQ-D56HNk7rb1O0BgHTHV2bYLIxZBGD-wxL4yhkaPhzc_EfJAgnfn9Ikj4Bm43mDUvk">entrepreneurial traits</a>, such as self-sufficiency, creativity and the capacity to take risks. They have the added incentive of not wanting to return to prison and have <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-66603-3_14">responded well</a> to entrepreneurship programmes in places like the US. </p>
<h2>Programmes in the US and UK</h2>
<p>Across the US, the <a href="https://inmatestoentrepreneurs.org/">Inmates to Entrepreneurs</a> programme offers many prisoners an eight-week course in which they are taught the basics of setting up a business through a combination of face-to-face and online provision. </p>
<p>Out of more than <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/22/formerly-incarcerated-people-are-turning-to-entrepreneurship-.html">100,000 people</a> who have taken the programme, around 30% have gone on to start a business. With ex-prisoners around <a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/AMBPP.2020.205">41% more likely</a> to become self-employed in the US compared to regular people, this programme clearly gives them some encouragement.</p>
<p>There have also been some smaller successful programmes in different parts of the US. For example, the <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED628207.pdf">Washington DC programme Aspire</a> saw 45 out of 125 graduates starting a business in 2021-22. </p>
<p>Meanwhile the Texas-based <a href="https://icic.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/ICIC_PEP-Impact-Analysis_final_post.pdf">Prison Entrepreneurship Programme</a>, which has been running for almost two decades, was shown in a <a href="https://www.baylorisr.org/wp-content/uploads/PEP_final_reduced-size.pdf">2013 study</a> to have reduced reoffending by around two-thirds, outperforming numerous other rehabilitation programmes in the state.</p>
<p>In the UK, around 80% of prisoners are interested in starting their own business – at least according to a <a href="https://centreforentrepreneurs.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Prison-Entrepreneurs-Report-WEB-1.pdf">2016 report</a> from the Centre for Entrepreneurs. That’s compared to about 40% of the general population. The Centre argues that ex-prisoners in the UK could be starting almost <a href="https://centreforentrepreneurs.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Prison-Entrepreneurs-Report-WEB-1.pdf">11,000 businesses</a> a year with the right support. </p>
<p>But the current provision is extremely limited. In London, Queen Mary University’s <a href="https://www.project-remake.org.uk/">Project ReMAKE</a> is an eight to 12-week programme that has been running for the past few years. It teaches the basic skills to around 15 ex-prisoners each year to become self-employed, and so far none of the graduates <a href="https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/project-remake">has reoffended</a>. </p>
<p>More broadly, the Centre for Entrepreneurs <a href="https://centreforentrepreneurs.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Prison-Entrepreneurs-Report-WEB-1.pdf">calculates that</a> a nationwide UK programme teaching entrepreneurial skills to prisoners might have a 14% reoffending rate, compared to the 46% norm. This was based mainly on the results of a charity called Startup, which taught entrepreneurialism to several thousand female ex-prisoners in the UK during the 2000s and 2010s. </p>
<p>Another previous entrepreneurship programme, this time by <a href="https://centreforentrepreneurs.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Prison-Entrepreneurs-Report-WEB-1.pdf">the Prince’s Trust</a>, gives an indication of how successful such programmes can be. It was offered to a range of people including ex-prisoners in the mid-2010s in different parts of England. It found that 78% of businesses set up by ex-prisoners reached the two-year survival mark – similar to participants on the programme as a whole. </p>
<h2>The Scottish situation</h2>
<p>There are no entrepreneurship programmes targeted at ex-prisoners in Scotland, where I’m based. Scotland particularly needs such a programme, since it’s got <a href="https://fraserofallander.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Perspective-2-Criminal-justice-and-the-costs-of-offending.pdf">very high imprisonment rates</a> for men and women. The female prison population, which is <a href="https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2022/11/scottish-prison-population-statistics-2021-22/documents/scottish-prison-population-statistics/scottish-prison-population-statistics/govscot%3Adocument/scottish-prison-population-statistics.pdf">just under 300</a>, is <a href="https://www.parlamaid-alba.scot/api/sitecore/CustomMedia/OfficialReport?meetingId=15365">among the highest</a> in northern Europe. </p>
<p>In 2022, some researchers at Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University delivered a <a href="https://www.hw.ac.uk/news/articles/2022/heriot-watt-university-research-has-high.htm">three-day programme</a> to a group of women in prison. It’s not yet clear to what extent the programme was successful. It might be that delivering such training in prison isn’t the best timing, since the recipients are potentially more likely to be in a better headspace once they are released and certain basic needs such as housing have been met. The three US programmes I mentioned earlier all provide training after prisoners have been released, with only the Texas programme also offering part of the course while recipients are still in prison. </p>
<p>To the same end, I recently received just under £100,000 from the Scottish government to launch a new pilot programme, again aimed at women. One of my most basic challenges is to make the notion of entrepreneurship attractive to these women. I aim to show them that it is not only about setting up a small business. Taking an entrepreneurship course can also help them to develop skills to make them employable and reach their potential, often by surfacing skills they didn’t know they had. </p>
<p>The programme will be delivered to 30 women predominantly based in greater Glasgow over six weeks in 2024. It will include exploring their skills, understanding digital communication, and creating tangible outcomes for and with them. The programme will also pay for their travel, lunch and childcare to ensure the women do not have barriers to taking part, while there will be social events at the beginning and end to help with group bonding. </p>
<p>Hopefully if the programme is a success, it can encourage the Scottish government to roll out this kind of training more widely. There’s enough evidence by now to suggest that teaching ex-prisoners how to start businesses should be an integral part of their rehabilitation. Hopefully the day will come when it is available across the board in the UK.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218875/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Norin Arshed received funding from Leverhulme Fellowship and the Scottish Government. </span></em></p>Despite very strong results in the US, there’s very little entrepreneurship training for former prisoners in the UK.Norin Arshed, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Strathclyde Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2165922023-11-29T17:07:55Z2023-11-29T17:07:55ZTech startups with diverse founding teams are more likely to seek IPO or acquisition<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561608/original/file-20231124-15-d0f1q9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=62%2C35%2C5865%2C3925&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Immigrant entrepreneurship has a substantial positive impact on innovation in the high-tech sector. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/tech-startups-with-diverse-founding-teams-are-more-likely-to-seek-ipo-or-acquisition" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The importance of immigrant entrepreneurs and diversity in management has been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2976">widely demonstrated in academic literature</a>. When management teams are diverse, they are able to bring a variety of perspectives to the decision-making process.</p>
<p>Immigrant entrepreneurship has a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1257/mac.2.2.31">substantial positive impact on innovation</a> in the high-tech sector. Immigrant tech founders are known to <a href="https://innovationeconomycouncil.com/reports/relocation-nation/">boost Canadian innovation</a> and, as an <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2023/09/14/us-immigrant-entrepreneurs-also-lured-to-canada/?sh=1e05345a3fa2">immigration destination</a>, the effects of this should interest Canada.</p>
<p>Immigrants in the United States have similarly become a <a href="https://nfap.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2022-BILLION-DOLLAR-STARTUPS.NFAP-Policy-Brief.2022.pdf">major driving force in the creation</a> of new, fast-growing technology startups. Studies <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1435-5957.2009.00271.x">in Germany</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0308518X16660085">England</a> have found the same. </p>
<p>While there is a wealth of evidence supporting the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs, there is a lack of research on how diversity specifically impacts the strategy and performance of founding teams in high-tech startups. </p>
<p>Only one study has been done on this topic; it found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2006.07.004">new technology startups with at least one immigrant founder</a> were more likely to emphasize product innovation and encourage the exploration of new market opportunities. Filling this research gap is important, as it could significantly impact a variety of parties, including entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers.</p>
<h2>Exits in high-tech startups</h2>
<p>New technology startups and their investors often seek exit strategies that outline how investors or founders can cash out or divest their ownership. This can involve startups going public with an initial public offering (IPO) or by having another company acquire the venture.</p>
<p>A crucial factor in this decision is the stage a company is at when considering a potential exit. Is the startup just starting to generate revenues, or is it already in the phase of revenue growth? Founders must decide whether to exit early in the sales phase or stay with the company until it achieves broader market success.</p>
<p>Research shows <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2006.07.004">immigrant entrepreneurs are more likely</a> than their native-born counterparts to seek new growth options by entering new markets and developing new products. As a result, technology startups with immigrant founders are more likely to pursue an exit strategy for financial gains during the initial revenue stage — as opposed to waiting until the next stage — which is more profitable, but also more risky.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Three people stand behing a glass wall covered in sticky notes. One of the people is writing on the glass wall with a whiteboard marker." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561187/original/file-20231122-23-5os4ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561187/original/file-20231122-23-5os4ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561187/original/file-20231122-23-5os4ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561187/original/file-20231122-23-5os4ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561187/original/file-20231122-23-5os4ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561187/original/file-20231122-23-5os4ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561187/original/file-20231122-23-5os4ob.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New technology startups and their investors often seek exit strategies that outline how investors or founders can cash out or divest their ownership.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Immigrants and exit strategies</h2>
<p>To address the previously mentioned research gap, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10422587231211006">I conducted a study alongside fellow researchers</a> Ilanit Gavious and Orit Milo from Ben-Gurion University. We sought to understand how diversity in founder teams affects exit decisions in high-tech startups.</p>
<p>In our analysis, we considered factors like team size, the countries where founders were born, prior business experience, gender, prior experience abroad, prior startup experience, level of education, research and development investment, whether the CEO was a founder or not, the location of the venture and firm size. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An ethnically diverse group of people have a conversation while looking at a computer screen." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561185/original/file-20231122-23-ejni3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/561185/original/file-20231122-23-ejni3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561185/original/file-20231122-23-ejni3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561185/original/file-20231122-23-ejni3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561185/original/file-20231122-23-ejni3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561185/original/file-20231122-23-ejni3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/561185/original/file-20231122-23-ejni3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New research could help entrepreneurs make better decisions about the composition of their startup leadership teams.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We also looked at different ways of measuring national cultural diversity. This included whether there was at least one immigrant founder, the percentage of immigrant founding team members and a diversity index. We defined immigrant founders as those who were born in another country, had a non-native surname and completed at least their undergraduate degree outside of Israel. </p>
<p>We studied 582 cases where Israeli tech startups were sold. We found that 65 of them had team members who were immigrants, while 517 did not. Our results strongly support the idea that having immigrants on the founding team substantially increases the chances of an exit strategy with an IPO or acquisition. This is notable, as it highlights the importance of diversity in founding teams for early investors in order to maximize the return on their investments. </p>
<h2>Insights for financial success</h2>
<p>Our research offers valuable insights for entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers in the startup ecosystem. Entrepreneurs can use our findings to make better decisions about the composition of the founding team in their ventures. Founders aiming for financial success through exit strategies should consider teaming up with founders from diverse cultural backgrounds. </p>
<p>Our study could help entrepreneurs make better decisions about the composition of the founding team in their ventures. Specifically, founders with IPO and acquisition exit strategies should make sure to collaborate with founders who come from different national cultures. </p>
<p>Investors, like angels and venture capitalists, can use our study’s insights to make better decisions about which startups to support and invest in. It can also provide insights into potential returns from investments. </p>
<p>Policymakers could use our findings in two ways. First, they should consider the diversity within founding teams when making decisions about loans and grant programs for startups. Second, they can use our insights when making decisions about accelerators and incubators, considering the impact of immigrants in the founding teams. </p>
<p>By directing resources towards incubators and accelerators that focus on startups with diverse founding teams, policymakers can increase the likelihood of future exits and improve the expected returns on government-supported startup programs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216592/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ramy Elitzur does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research has found that technology startups with immigrant founders are more likely to pursue an exit strategy during the initial revenue stage — which is more profitable, but also more risky.Ramy Elitzur, Professor, Rotman School of Management, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2146182023-10-22T11:41:47Z2023-10-22T11:41:47ZCanada’s Start-Up Visa program is struggling to fill the shoes of its predecessor<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554378/original/file-20231017-17-80i15r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=24%2C346%2C5067%2C3222&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Start-Up Visa program is designed to help foreign entrepreneurs gain permanent residence in Canada</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/canadas-start-up-visa-program-is-struggling-to-fill-the-shoes-of-its-predecessor" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>To bolster its <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/digital-technologies-ict/en/canadian-ict-sector-profile">rapidly-growing tech sector</a>, the Canadian government introduced the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2023/06/canadas-tech-talent-strategy.html">Tech Talent Strategy in June 2023</a> with the <a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-new-tech-talent-strategy-aims-to-attract-workers-from-around-the-world-208810">aim of attracting workers and entrepreneurs</a>. As a part of this strategy, the government announced improvements to the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/start-visa.html">Start-Up Visa program</a>.</p>
<p>The Start-Up Visa program is designed to help foreign entrepreneurs gain permanent residence in Canada. Initially introduced as a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/start-up-program-disappointment-laywer-says-1.3443956">five-year pilot project in 2013</a>, it was created to replace the longstanding Federal Entrepreneur Program that had been in operation since the 1970s.</p>
<p>However, the Start-Up Visa program has not proven to be a suitable replacement. Although the program has grown over the years, our analysis found that it’s still only half the size the Federal Entrepreneur Program was in 2010.</p>
<p>The Start-Up Visa program is falling short in a number of key areas, including job creation, global trade opportunities and the long-term viability of businesses.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A line graph showing the decline of the Federal Entrepreneur Program and the introduction of the Start-Up Visa program" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553729/original/file-20231013-15-qjrny0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553729/original/file-20231013-15-qjrny0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553729/original/file-20231013-15-qjrny0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553729/original/file-20231013-15-qjrny0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553729/original/file-20231013-15-qjrny0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553729/original/file-20231013-15-qjrny0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553729/original/file-20231013-15-qjrny0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The integration of the Start-Up Visa in Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Government of Canada Open Data)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Job creation</h2>
<p>The primary concern with the Start-Up Visa program is its ability to create jobs. Unlike the Federal Entrepreneur Program, which required those coming to Canada <a href="https://www.torontomu.ca/content/dam/centre-for-immigration-and-settlement/tmcis/publications/workingpapers/2019_1_Wang_Shuguang_Hii_Rebecca_Influence_of_Immigration_Policies_on_Supply_of_Ethnic_Business_Entrepreneurs_in_Canada.pdf">to create at least one new job</a>, the Start-Up Visa program doesn’t have job creation requirements in its admission criteria.</p>
<p>Job creation is an important reason why Canada has expanded its pathways to permanent residency. Immigrants with a variety of professional experiences can contribute to Canada’s growing economy, and business immigration plays an important role in that growth. </p>
<p><a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11f0019m/11f0019m2019011-eng.htm">A 2019 study by Statistics Canada</a> found that immigrant-owned firms had a higher net job growth per firm than firms owned by the Canadian-born. While not all immigrant-owned businesses were founded by immigrants who came through the Federal Entrepreneur Program, they represented about <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11f0019m/11f0019m2016375-eng.htm">21 per cent of all immigrant-owned businesses in 2010</a>.</p>
<h2>Innovation and internationalization</h2>
<p>Aside from job creation, the Start-Up Visa program has additional objectives to boost innovation and internationalization. However, the ability of the Start-Up Visa program to attract businesses that are innovative is still unclear.</p>
<p>Prior to the Start-Up Visa program, immigrant-led businesses in Canada proved to be innovative, although not to the degree suggested <a href="https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/pdf/pub/e5-2015-suv-eng.pdf">by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11f0019m/11f0019m2020009-eng.htm">A study by Statistics Canada</a> using data from 2011, 2014 and 2017 revealed that immigrant-led businesses operating in Canada for over 20 years were more likely to implement innovations in processes, products or marketing, and use patents compared to similar Canadian-owned firms. This suggests that businesses from the Federal Entrepreneur Program were not necessarily underperforming.</p>
<p>While it’s anticipated that businesses entering through the Start-Up Visa program will exceed these results, the lack of data makes it difficult to determine whether this is actually the case. <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/this-program-aims-to-attract-startups-to-canada-critics-say-it-s-being-used-as/article_3e0381c9-8015-5bbc-b538-750f580768b4.html">Only a few applicants were endorsed by investors, and most were supported by incubators</a>, meaning applicants consist primarily of early-stage startups. While they might be innovative, they will likely face challenges in terms of survival and longevity.</p>
<p>While there is no concrete evidence to suggest businesses in the Start-Up Visa program are more innovative, there is evidence to suggest it has resulted in increased internationalization, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/start-visa.html">another one of the program’s objectives</a>. Since the Start-Up Visa was introduced, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2023/09/14/us-immigrant-entrepreneurs-also-lured-to-canada/">many immigrant entrepreneurs have moved to Canada from the United States</a>.</p>
<h2>Financing constraints and debt obligations</h2>
<p>Another area where the Start-Up Visa program falls short is direct foreign investment. While the <a href="https://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2015/2015-05-23/html/notice-avis-eng.html">ministerial instructions governing the program</a> don’t explicitly state capital should only come from Canadian investors, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/start-visa/participate/designation.html">a significant number of designated organizations are based in Canada</a>. This suggests the program is focused on attracting foreign <em>entrepreneurs</em> to Canada, rather than attracting foreign <em>capital</em>. </p>
<p>Without specific requirements, the Start-Up Visa program is unlikely to attract significant foreign capital into the country, as <a href="https://ackahlaw.com/news/faqs-about-canadas-start-up-visa-program-for-foreign-entrepreneurs">foreign entrepreneurs are often required to secure funds from Canadian investors</a>.</p>
<p>In contrast, foreign entrepreneurs that came through the Federal Entrepreneur Program ended up bringing their own foreign capital with them. The program <a href="https://www.canadianimmigration.com/immigration-to-canada/investors-entrepreneurs-and-self-employed/federal-entrepreneur-program/">required these entrepreneurs to have a net worth of at least $300,000</a>. This approach resulted in them being <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/11f0019m/11f0019m2018404-eng.pdf?st=4Vi13al1">3.1 to 4.5 percentage points more likely to rely on personal finances and networks to startup their ventures</a> than their Canadian-born counterparts.</p>
<h2>Start-Up Visa applicants</h2>
<p>In the face of these criticisms, how necessary is the Start-Up Visa program exactly? Aside from instances of <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/this-program-aims-to-attract-startups-to-canada-critics-say-it-s-being-used-as/article_3e0381c9-8015-5bbc-b538-750f580768b4.html">fraudulent applications to the Start-Up Visa</a>, there are fundamental issues with the program. </p>
<p>One issue is whether the Start-Up Visa program is diverting potential applicants away from other programs. Another is whether it genuinely offers a route to permanent residency for those who are unlikely to succeed in other pathways.</p>
<p>Foreign entrepreneurs who come through the Start-Up Visa are <a href="https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/pdf/pub/e5-2015-suv-eng.pdf">younger, more highly educated and have better knowledge of English or French</a> than those who came through the Federal Entrepreneur Program.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/work-canada/hire-temporary-foreign/iec.html">These characteristics are similar to those arriving through other pathways</a>, with the crucial difference being that Start-Up Visa applicants bring entrepreneurial skills. But these applicants could easily use other routes like Express Entry or Provincial Nominee programs.</p>
<p>In terms of the individual quality of applicants, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/pdf/pub/e5-2015-suv-eng.pdf">the Start-Up Visa does not contribute significantly to the skill composition of immigration to Canada</a>. However, it does present an opportunity to invest in foreign startups — all these entrepreneurs need is an ecosystem that will help them thrive. But their prosperity largely depends on Canada’s startup ecosystem, which essentially makes the Start-Up Visa an instrument for investing in risky foreign startups.</p>
<h2>So what next?</h2>
<p>Whether a policy works depends on its evaluation. The Federal Entrepreneur Program was shut down because many foreign entrepreneurs started small, unscalable businesses, which were deemed unsuitable for Canada’s future economic landscape. However few, these businesses brought in foreign direct investment and created jobs.</p>
<p>As shown by many studies, most startups fail. About <a href="https://www.iincanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/survival-rates-startups.pdf">half of all startups that have received angel investments fail within five years</a>. At what point do we say that the program may not be working?</p>
<p>Our policy recommendation is that IRCC should conduct a thorough evaluation of the Start-Up Visa program to measure its performance regarding its stated objectives of job creation, innovation and internationalization, as well as provide achievable targets for these objectives.</p>
<p>When IRCC closes a pathway to permanent residency and opens up a new one, Canadians should ask not just whether it aligns with our objectives, but also whether those objectives are clear, measurable goals that can be evaluated over time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214618/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stein Monteiro receives funding from the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bradley Bernard receives funding from the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration.</span></em></p>The Start-Up Visa program is falling short in a number of key areas, including job creation, global trade opportunities and the long-term viability of businesses.Stein Monteiro, Senior Research Associate, CERC Migration Program, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityBradley Bernard, PhD Student in Management, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2135192023-09-25T21:37:11Z2023-09-25T21:37:11ZEntrepreneurs are facing a mental health crisis — here’s how to help them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549670/original/file-20230921-22-bt79xv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=44%2C26%2C5935%2C3953&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Almost half of Canadian entrepreneurs are experiencing mental health challenges related to stress and finances.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/entrepreneurs-are-facing-a-mental-health-crisis-heres-how-to-help-them" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Mental health is a pressing concern in the startup community. Entrepreneurs face a number of unique challenges, including securing funding and meeting gruelling performance targets — all while trying to achieve a work-life balance. These demands can take a significant toll on someone’s mental health.</p>
<p>According to a <a href="https://www.bdc.ca/en/about/mediaroom/news-releases/entrepreneurs-mental-health-has-decreased-significantly-compared-to-last-year-warns-new-survey-results-from-bdc">report from the Business Development Bank of Canada</a>, almost half of Canadian entrepreneurs are experiencing mental health challenges, mostly related to stress and finances.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-018-0059-8">Entrepreneurs are</a> twice as likely to report a lifetime history of depression, three times more likely to have bipolar disorder and three times more likely to experience substance abuse and addiction. They are also twice as likely to attempt suicide or be hospitalized in a psychiatric institution. </p>
<p>Despite this, many entrepreneurs have difficulty accessing mental health support. Cost is the biggest barrier, but the risk of being seen as too vulnerable is also an issue. Many entrepreneurs fear that being seen as too weak or timid could <a href="https://pitchbook.com/news/articles/vcs-founders-mental-health">jeopardize their chances of securing funding</a>. </p>
<p>Since <a href="https://www.oecd.org/cfe/leed/entrepreneurship.htm">entrepreneurship is the backbone of economic growth</a>, the importance of mental health support for entrepreneurs cannot be overstated. Recognizing and addressing mental health is not just a matter of compassion, but also an essential investment in society at large.</p>
<h2>The ‘founder’s dilemma’</h2>
<p>Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, once likened starting a venture to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/steve-jobs-famous-quote-misunderstood-laurene-powell-2020-2">putting a dent in the universe</a>. In other words, it’s extremely difficult. Many are drawn to entrepreneurship, but <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/040915/how-many-startups-fail-and-why.asp">few manage to thrive commercially</a>. And many quit for reasons they shouldn’t.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man sitting at a table in a dimly lit room rests his head against his hand" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549669/original/file-20230921-29-bvlp96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549669/original/file-20230921-29-bvlp96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549669/original/file-20230921-29-bvlp96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549669/original/file-20230921-29-bvlp96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549669/original/file-20230921-29-bvlp96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549669/original/file-20230921-29-bvlp96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549669/original/file-20230921-29-bvlp96.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Entrepreneurs often struggle to maintain a healthy work-life balance.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Noam Wasserman, dean of Yeshiva University’s business school, <a href="https://hbr.org/2008/02/the-founders-dilemma">wrote about the “founder’s dilemma” in 2008</a>. According to him, this dilemma revolves around the tension between accepting money from outside investors and resisting losing control over one’s company and, sometimes, being ousted altogether. </p>
<p>Fast forward 15 years, and things have changed in the startup space. Early investors are now able to secure generous stock option grants or loans from founders. Being in onerous debt amid financial uncertainty <a href="https://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/debt-crises-innovation">puts a firm’s flexibility and capacity for innovation at risk</a>. </p>
<p>Out of financial self-preservation, some founders fall into a cycle of constant fundraising to get them out of debt. The quixotic drive to balance short-term financing with long-term operational excellence can drive any entrepreneur into distress.</p>
<h2>Mounting pressure</h2>
<p>The pressure that startup founders face today is more intense than it has been for two decades. Entrepreneurs are now grappling with whether the hustle is still worth it.</p>
<p>First, their cash runway is a cliff face. <a href="https://pitchbook.com/news/reports/q2-2023-pitchbook-venture-first-look">During the first half of 2023</a>, global venture capital funding slid by 48 per cent compared to last year. In North America, second-quarter venture spending was the lowest in over three years.</p>
<p>Second, <a href="https://startupsmagazine.co.uk/article-uk-recruiters-struggle-access-talent-2023-skills-gap-widens">talent is scarce and expensive</a>. Third, exit opportunities for later-stage founders — through an initial public offering or a sale to a bigger firm — are vanishing. This leads to <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/19/tech-industry-layoffs-2023/">layoffs amid intensifying pressures to find a “path to profitability”</a> while <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/06/20/tiger-global-liquidity-latestage/">early financial backers seek to liquidate their investments</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://news.crunchbase.com/ma/us-startup-acquisitions-lag-databricks/">According to <em>Crunchbase News</em></a>, mergers and acquisitions for venture capital-backed companies based in the United States this year are on course to be the slowest since 2013. Investments in what were only last year considered booming sectors, such as health technology, have shrunk dramatically.</p>
<p>In this high-interest rate, scarce money, no-exit environment, startup founders are facing a financial and mental health crisis.</p>
<h2>Addressing mental health challenges</h2>
<p><a href="https://cmha.ca/news/entrepreneurs-and-mental-health-study/">Past research on business and entrepreneurial mental health</a> can guide us toward promising new solutions. There are many potential low-cost or no-cost solutions to founders’ mental health troubles in this current investment climate.</p>
<p>First, outside investors in private ventures need to be qualified not only in terms of net income or net worth, but also on the basis of their commitment to population health in general, and mental health in particular. </p>
<p>This builds on the wisdom and research behind the <a href="https://www.founderpledge.com/">Founder Mental Health Pledge</a> pioneered by serial entrepreneurs Naveed Lalani and Brad Baum and supported by founders globally. The pledge aims to de-stigmatize mental health and treat it as a business expense, including therapy, coaching and group support.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A group of people having a conversation around a conference table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549671/original/file-20230921-15-nud0c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549671/original/file-20230921-15-nud0c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549671/original/file-20230921-15-nud0c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549671/original/file-20230921-15-nud0c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549671/original/file-20230921-15-nud0c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549671/original/file-20230921-15-nud0c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549671/original/file-20230921-15-nud0c8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There are many potential low-cost or no-cost solutions to founders’ mental health troubles in the current investment climate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Investors should acknowledge the importance of protecting a founder’s mental health by including the potential harms that may befall a startup on the term sheets. Practically, this could mean paying for more mental health benefits and memberships in peer support networks for founders. This strategy can build investor awareness and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health challenges.</p>
<p>Second, firms should establish expert advisory committees dedicated to protecting founders’ mental health. This would encourage founders to speak openly to the committee about hardships they encounter. This would be another important step in the uphill battle to de-stigmatize mental illness and steer founders toward mental health supports.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most important way we can help entrepreneurs is to send honest messages about both entrepreneurial hardship <em>and</em> hope. Nurturing a venture from birth to commercial maturity can be emotionally exhausting. And yet, with the right psychological supports, entrepreneurship can ignite passion, purpose and result in prosperity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213519/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Neil Seeman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Recognizing and addressing the mental health struggles of entrepreneurs is not just a matter of compassion, but is also an essential investment in society at large.Neil Seeman, Senior Fellow, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, and Adjunct Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2043302023-09-20T23:22:12Z2023-09-20T23:22:12ZHow Canada can make its startup ecosystem more inclusive<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547896/original/file-20230912-17-kmo8yr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=57%2C45%2C6300%2C4265&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Increasing inclusivity in entrepreneurship will foster more equitable economic participation across the board.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/how-canada-can-make-its-startup-ecosystem-more-inclusive" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The global pandemic caused devastating economic impacts, including <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-the-coronavirus-is-affecting-canadas-labour-market-137749">high levels of unemployment</a>. As with the 2008 recession, self-employment has been encouraged as a pathway towards economic participation and <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-001-x/2010103/article/11138-eng.htm">boosting the labour market</a>.</p>
<p>Yet marginalized groups, including women and Indigenous people, continue to <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/may-2023/immigrant-entrepreneurs-need-targeted-support/">face barriers to starting and growing a business</a>. In <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-621-m/11-621-m2022005-eng.htm">2022</a>, only 18 per cent of small and midsize businesses in Canada were majority women-owned, only 16 per cent were owned by visible minorities and only two per cent were Indigenous-owned.</p>
<p>According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/71b7a9bb-en/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/71b7a9bb-en">helping marginalized groups start their own businesses</a> will result in significant economic and social benefits. </p>
<p>Women-led small and micro businesses, for example, <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/10/investing-women-small-micro-business-owners-smbs-economy-recovery-great-reset-gender-gap/">contribute to communities around the globe</a>. They use their resources to reinvest in the health, education and well-being of their families and neighbours. </p>
<p>For this reason, an emerging body of research is recognizing the importance of <a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2021.15368symposium">startups that are born out of necessity, not profit</a>. Despite this, most entrepreneurial resources and support still primarily focus on high-growth entrepreneurship. </p>
<h2>Barriers to inclusivity</h2>
<p>The Kauffman Foundation, a private organization that supports and studies entrepreneurship, follows a “<a href="https://www.kauffman.org/entrepreneurship/reports/access-to-capital-for-entrepreneurs-removing-barriers/">zero barriers” mantra</a>. It asserts that when some groups face obstacles to entrepreneurship, the entire system is held back. This isn’t just an empty slogan — it’s one <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114540">supported by research</a>.</p>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/employment/the-missing-entrepreneurs-2021_71b7a9bb-en">three primary barriers to inclusivity in entrepreneurship</a>. The first is that many have a narrow view of entrepreneurship that focuses on tech, venture capital, profit and individual achievement. This approach often leads to support systems that exclude marginalized communities.</p>
<p>The second barrier is that there is unequal access to information about existing supports and resources for entrepreneurs. Lastly, there is insufficient support for marginalized communities, and a lack of trust and confidence in those providing assistance.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two women, one wearing a hijab, speak to a man at a table" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547897/original/file-20230912-23-nolzo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547897/original/file-20230912-23-nolzo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547897/original/file-20230912-23-nolzo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547897/original/file-20230912-23-nolzo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547897/original/file-20230912-23-nolzo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547897/original/file-20230912-23-nolzo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547897/original/file-20230912-23-nolzo7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When some groups face obstacles to entrepreneurship, the entire system is held back.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Effectively addressing obstacles</h2>
<p>Despite a widespread understanding of the broader barriers to inclusive entrepreneurship, there is a lack of understanding about the specific ones, which is needed to effectively address these obstacles.</p>
<p>For instance, how can information about entrepreneurial support be more accessible? How should these support systems be customized to meet the needs of marginalized people? How can we establish trust and credibility in the support being offered? What is a more inclusive way of supporting entrepreneurship?</p>
<p>These questions can only be effectively addressed at the systemic level. Studies show that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-018-0526-3">entrepreneurship increases when there are strong systems</a> — like incubators, accelerators, funding opportunities, networks, policy frameworks and market access — in place.</p>
<p>In other words, increasing entrepreneurship among marginalized people calls for the development of more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems.</p>
<h2>Transforming the system</h2>
<p>Creating a more inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem involves transforming the existing one. Such a transformation calls for the involvement and collaboration of individuals and groups that support inclusive entrepreneurship. </p>
<p>Working on a larger scale will assist Canadian policymakers and organizations in helping people from diverse communities make the most of their economic and social potential through entrepreneurship.</p>
<p>Several key characteristics <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66603-3_6">define an inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem</a>. First, it involves seeking input from entrepreneurs belonging to marginalized communities. These insights should shape policy decisions and public initiatives.</p>
<p>Another essential aspect is educating government officials and the media about a more inclusive definition of entrepreneurship that goes beyond typical high-growth ventures. By broadening their understanding, policymakers can develop more inclusive policies and allocate funding more equitably.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A diverse group of people having a conversation around a table in an office" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547891/original/file-20230912-23-ngjxwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547891/original/file-20230912-23-ngjxwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547891/original/file-20230912-23-ngjxwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547891/original/file-20230912-23-ngjxwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547891/original/file-20230912-23-ngjxwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547891/original/file-20230912-23-ngjxwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547891/original/file-20230912-23-ngjxwa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Inclusive entrepreneurship involves seeking input from entrepreneurs belonging to marginalized communities to understand their specific needs and preferences.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Additionally, fostering grassroots initiatives that support entrepreneurs from marginalized communities is vital. These initiatives should be led by entrepreneurs from those communities, which will likely mean diverting resources from existing power players.</p>
<p>Ensuring everyone has access to affordable, culturally specific education that nurtures entrepreneurial skills is also fundamental. Understanding how trauma impacts startup aspiration and success, and taking a trauma-informed approach to supporting inclusive entrepreneurship, is equally important.</p>
<h2>Ecosystem builders</h2>
<p>Supporting <a href="https://www.kauffman.org/ecosystem-playbook-draft-3/scale/">entrepreneur ecosystem builders</a> is a pivotal way to create a more inclusive startup environment. Ecosystem builders are organizations that work to remove existing barriers in the startup system.</p>
<p>At <a href="https://www.macewan.ca/academics/centres-institutes/social-innovation-institute">MacEwan University’s Social Innovation Institute</a>, we are striving to be an ecosystem builder by holding roundtables with key groups. These groups include innovation authority Edmonton Unlimited, non-profits that support marginalized entrepreneurs, the government and financial institutions.</p>
<p>Participants are working to create a shared vision of inclusive entrepreneurship by identifying community strengths and barriers, and figuring out the steps needed to transform Edmonton’s startup ecosystem. A key aspect of this transformation involves joint efforts to influence and shape policy decisions.</p>
<p>Edmonton’s efforts to create an inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem will not only benefit the local community, but also hopefully guide other cities in transforming their entrepreneurial ecosystems as well. By making these changes, we will foster more equitable economic participation across the board.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204330/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leanne Hedberg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Increasing entrepreneurship among women and racialized people calls for the development of more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems.Leanne Hedberg, Director of Social Innovation Institute, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, MacEwan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2114712023-09-06T12:23:21Z2023-09-06T12:23:21ZEntrepreneurs, beware: Owning your own business can make it harder to get hired later<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/545802/original/file-20230831-19-gwq112.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C11%2C7282%2C4792&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Researchers found that ex-entrepreneurs are “burning up upon reentry.”</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/nervous-wait-royalty-free-image/599261894">Sturti/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’ve been thinking about starting your own business lately, you’re not alone. Americans began launching ventures in record numbers during the pandemic, with an above-trend pace <a href="https://fredblog.stlouisfed.org/2023/07/business-formation-is-booming/">continuing through 2023</a>.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, many of of these enterprises <a href="https://www.fundera.com/blog/what-percentage-of-small-businesses-fail">won’t last long</a>: 30% of new businesses fail within two years, and half don’t last past five, according to the Small Business Administration. While some of these unlucky founders will pursue new ventures, many others will try to rejoin the traditional labor force. </p>
<p>You can’t blame them. People often see “going back to work” as a safety net for risk-taking entrepreneurs. As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=TlHSCeQAAAAJ&hl=en">professors of management</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XFWZXWYAAAAJ">who study entrepreneurship</a>, we wanted to see if this was true. </p>
<p><iframe id="uLa9V" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/uLa9V/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Screened out</h2>
<p>So <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/01492063221117119">we surveyed</a> more than 700 hiring professionals to determine whether founders really can get new jobs that easily, as well as seven former entrepreneurs who successfully made the transition back into the workforce.</p>
<p>We found that former business owners were actually less likely to get interviews compared with applicants with only traditional experience. This was true regardless of whether they had sold or closed their businesses. And the longer they were out of the traditional workforce, the worse their chances of success were. </p>
<p>Why do employers hesitate to take a chance on former business owners? </p>
<p>It starts at the earliest stages, with the recruiters who screen people into – or out of – consideration for interviews. We found that recruiters worried that entrepreneurs would jump ship to start their own companies as soon as they can. This is a problem for employers, since hiring is a long, expensive process that can take months or even years to pay off. </p>
<p>For example, one recruiter told us, “I am looking for candidates that will be long-term employees, as we invest quite a bit into each hire. When I interview people, it is generally a red flag if they say they want to start their own business or already have a business on the side.” </p>
<p>A related fear: A worker who leaves to start a new venture might be tempted to poach talent, clients and tactics from their old employer.</p>
<p>Recruiters were also concerned that former entrepreneurs may refuse to take directions. Spending time as your own boss can make it difficult to adapt to a lower place on the organizational hierarchy. As one recruiter in our study put it, former business owners “are used to being the one who makes all the decisions.”</p>
<p>They also raised issues of job fit, questioning whether ex-entrepreneurs’ knowledge and abilities would translate to traditional work. “The concern would be the skills they have developed don’t transfer,” said one of our interviewees. In addition, for entrepreneurs who have worked alone, it can be difficult for recruiters to know how well they’ll perform with others.</p>
<p>Even when a former entrepreneur is a good match for a position, recruiters can fail to make the connection because of stereotypes or misunderstandings about their experience. A former bakery owner we interviewed recalled applying for a position and being pigeonholed based on their experience: “They said, ‘Oh, I wish we were hiring for a baker!’ and I said, ‘No, no, no, I’m applying for your front office.’ It was like they thought all I knew was just a baker, but that is far from the truth.”</p>
<h2>Landing an interview</h2>
<p>Our research adds to a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2022.1592">growing body of evidence</a> that ex-entrepreneurs struggle to get interviews and offers. Thankfully, it also offers insights that organizations can use to improve their applicant pool – and that enterprising job seekers can use to boost their odds.</p>
<p>Our study found that former entrepreneurs face less bias when they apply to roles that seem entrepreneurish – in other words, that are in line with stereotypes about business owners. So, for example, they’re more likely to land interviews when applying for positions with a lot of autonomy, such as in new business development, rather than those that require following lots of rules, such as in legal compliance.</p>
<p>Relatedly, our research suggests that recruiters – perhaps unintentionally – have biases against ex-entrepreneurs. Acknowledging such tendencies is a good first step toward minimizing their influence. Moreover, not all recruiters are equally affected: Another recent study showed that recruiters who also have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12607">prior entrepreneurial experience</a> – as well as women and those who were recently hired – were less likely to screen out former business owners. So organizations with more diverse hiring teams and a deeper understanding of entrepreneurial experience might see less-biased results.</p>
<p>For their part, ex-entrepreneur job applicants would be wise to highlight in-demand aspects of their work history. For instance, a recent survey by Boston Consulting Group found that executives rank innovation as one of their <a href="https://www.bcg.com/press/23may2023-companies-rank-innovation-as-top-three-priority-2023">top three priorities</a>. Former entrepreneurs should emphasize their many valuable characteristics – such as being <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2016.05.002">passionate</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-9026(03)00005-3">creative</a> – that contribute to innovation.</p>
<p>The lack of a traditional employment history may create obstacles for entrepreneurs trying to rejoin the workforce. Recruiters who overlook their value risk missing out on strong candidates.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211471/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Returning to a 9-to-5 job is more challenging than many expect.Jacob A. Waddingham, Assistant Professor of Management, Texas State UniversityMiles Zachary, Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship, Auburn UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2097472023-08-02T18:05:38Z2023-08-02T18:05:38ZHow platforms like Airbnb turn users into narcissistic entrepreneurs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/538990/original/file-20230724-23-4u79mc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>When browsing Airbnb listings for a weekend getaway, you would not only check cottage amenities but also scroll through previous guest reviews. And if you put up your house for rental on the same platform, you would scrutinise prospective guests beforehand. Wouldn’t you?</p>
<p>Because everyone wants reassurance, especially when it comes to letting strangers into your home. “No one wants to rent to a person who used the last rental as a temporary brothel or drug den,” as a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/19/realestate/surviving-a-bad-airbnb-review.html"><em>New York Times</em> article</a> puts it.</p>
<h2>Controlling online transactions between strangers</h2>
<p>After all, there is no way online platforms such as Airbnb, Turo or Uber (the so-called sharing economy) can control each and every transaction. This is why, to maintain trust in their platforms, they decentralise control to users. How? Via evaluations – while retaining power over the control infrastructure.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AAAJ-12-2018-3797/full/html">our research paper</a>, we assert that within this platform capitalism, peer-to-peer platforms are a specific case.</p>
<p>We explain that evaluations in a peer-to-peer context are intriguing for two reasons:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Trust is a two-way concern, since any user of the platform can both provide a service and offer one. This introduces reciprocity in the evaluation.</p></li>
<li><p>Access-based consumption changes what is at stake in online reviews. The users still own their apartments after a rental, unlike in standard sale transactions, consequently reviews relate to personal dimensions as private lives are engaged in a market.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Airbnb: a “netnography”</h2>
<p>To investigate the mechanisms through which users appropriate platforms, we drew on a case study of the home-renting platform Airbnb (a giant now valued at $95 billion). We conducted an online ethnography or <em>netnography</em>, analysing more than 300 user-generated reviews of rentals in major European locations, and conducted 17 interviews with Airbnb users and one with an executive from the platform.</p>
<p>And what we found wasn’t a happy, touchy-feely “community” (the official Airbnb term for its collective of users) engaging in the so-called sharing economy. Instead, evaluation produces what we call narcissistic entrepreneurs of the self. Peer-to-peer platforms provide users with a structure to assetise and maximise the value of private belongings and skills on marketplaces. As such they turn individuals into <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277164772_Michel_Foucault_The_Birth_of_Biopolitics_Lectures_at_the_College_de_France_1978-1979_Edited_by_Michel_Senellart_Translated_by_Graham_Burchell_New_York_Palgrave_MacMillan_2008_ISBN_978-1403986542">what Foucault would term “entrepreneurs of the self”</a> – individuals who view themselves as their own capital, producer, and source of earnings.</p>
<p>Evaluation processes on peer-to-peer platforms stir up users’ narcissism because users rely on the peer evaluations that they give and receive to reaffirm their personal characteristics. On peer-to-peer platforms, users aren’t only engaged in monetary maximisation but they also seek to increase their own worth as a person and the evaluation infrastructure incites them to behave so. The public, overwhelmingly positive, evaluation system extends the mere review process and encompasses profile setting, and photos’ posting for instance. It functions as a mirror, allowing users to seek confirmation and validation from positive reviews while also experiencing distress from negative feedback.</p>
<p>Such evaluation processes consolidate a community that is only for show and have been developed to support an appealing, efficient market.</p>
<p>How does this work in practice?</p>
<h2>The rise of narcissistic entrepreneurs</h2>
<p>Airbnb requires users to set up an individual profile and encourages them to provide personal details. Whether users like it or not – and some interviewees stated it was “a drag” – they oblige, understanding that it is part of “the game”, and usually post cheery self-descriptions. This embodies transactions and anchors the use of the platform to a seemingly virtual community. It also broadens the stake of evaluation. Indeed, while the “location” criterion clearly applies to the home, “communication” applies to the person. So in a subtle way, the object of the evaluation shifts from the service to the user’s own worth.</p>
<p>The norm for reviews on the platform is strongly positive, with recurring comments of “amazing,” “lovely” and “wonderful” apartments. In fact, we noted a standard set at perfection or near-perfection with ratings never dropping below 4.5 out of 5 in the platforms’ largest cities in terms of ratings (Los Angeles, Paris, New York and London).</p>
<p>Actually, bad evaluations are taboo. Instead, users deal with unpleasant experiences (from smelly refrigerators to bedbugs or even theft) either through private e-mails with the other party or euphemistic public comments, so as not to hurt the other user. Still, the comments are outwardly positive, but users place subtle hints that can alert the rest of the community, without the risk of appearing overcritical.</p>
<h2>How Airbnb reproduces class biases</h2>
<p>So publicly criticising others on peer-to-peer platforms is problematic, also because potentially it defines the user giving the review as “bitchy” or “an angry nitpicker.” Conversely, giving out good reviews is described as a pleasure by users, like granting a prize. Hosts on the receiving end feel like they have been awarded a “gold star at school.” In our article, we cite the example of one user pleased to appear non-racist because he took a booking from an African-American. We conclude that reviews are material to make sense of the self and an opportunity to show an ideal projection of the self.</p>
<p>Digging deeper into the subtleties of the process, we explain that users also make sense of themselves through the fellow users they select by decoding weak signals in reviews. While the platform officially encourages the posting of personal information to reduce the uncertainty of the transaction, users do so by seeking out peers: people who seem like them. For example, Igor, a French person employed in what he refers to as trendy art galleries, clarified that his listing was solely in the English language to “avoid non–English speaking French people, the worst kind. They only do touristy stuff”. By steering clear of what he termed “losers,” he found comfort in his trendiness.</p>
<p>As a guest, Violet explained that when selecting accommodation, she seeks a comparable neighbourhood to her own. She argued that Airbnb is “all about people with money who want to stay in an apartment that belongs to someone like them, from the same socio-professional category, but who do not want to meet that someone!” However, not all users possess such reflexivity, with many relying on their “instinct” or claiming their open-mindedness when selecting hosts or guests.</p>
<h2>Blatant discrimination</h2>
<p>In stark contrast to this appearance of tolerance, many users exclude others based on racist or sexist considerations. As Clara revealed, “I know which nationalities I do not want staying in my home… ” Ultimately, the selection processes employed by Airbnb users reveal a significant gap between their professed open-mindedness and their actual inclination to choose users who resemble themselves. They end up discriminating more or less consciously based on social, racial or class grounds (spelling errors, racial stereotypes, perception of a guest’s home city as crime-ridden, etc.). They turn the assessment mirror back at others and, in doing so, rationalise processes of exclusion.</p>
<p>Implementing social reproduction schemes is one way to secure a perfect evaluation and limit risk. Behind the facade of community, online evaluation processes push users into schemes of social reproduction. Users’ narcissism then works as a cost-effective control infrastructure that keeps the market fluid.</p>
<h2>Cheap and optimal control</h2>
<p>Therefore, compared to evaluation in a corporate context, evaluation on peer-to-peer platforms guarantees cheap and optimal control. It is decentralised to users, and builds on reciprocity and narcissism so as to secure the fluidity of transactions without fuelling competition between users.</p>
<p>Beyond the specific context of online peer-to-peer platforms, this case says something about the pervasiveness of evaluation in our digitalised and algorithmic society. It pushes us into social reproduction and produces narcissistic entrepreneurs of the self, whose critical capacities are stifled in the face of evaluative mechanisms.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209747/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Far from a touchy-feely community, research shows online platforms such as Airbnb tend to strengthen users’ narcissism and class biases.Pénélope Van den Bussche, Doctorante en Sciences de Gestion, ESCP Business SchoolClaire Dambrin, Professor in Management Control, ESCP Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2082622023-07-14T14:51:26Z2023-07-14T14:51:26ZCity liveability rankings tell a biased story – our research in Dhaka explains why<p>Like many fast-growing megacities in Asia and Africa, Dhaka, in Bangladesh, is often stigmatised as one of the most unliveable cities on earth, due to overcrowding, slums and substandard housing. The Bangladeshi capital boasts around <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/dhaka-population">23 million</a> residents. </p>
<p>In the <a href="https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/global-liveability-index-2023/">2023 edition</a> of its annual global liveability index, the Economist Intelligence Unit (the research and analysis division of the Economist Group) ranked the Bangladeshi capital 166 out of 173 cities. As Helemul Alam of the Daily Star put it, that ranking makes it the <a href="https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/liveability-index-dhaka-seventh-least-liveable-city-world-3055296">“seventh least liveable city in the world”</a>. While such lists tell a compelling story, it is an inherently biased one. </p>
<p>The Economist’s global liveability index is based on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-worlds-most-liveable-city-title-isnt-a-measure-of-the-things-most-of-us-actually-care-about-101525">experiences of expats</a> rather than citizens. This kind of ranking inevitably privileges the perspectives of certain urban occupants and workers over others, often overlooking communities <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-worlds-most-liveable-city-title-isnt-a-measure-of-the-things-most-of-us-actually-care-about-101525">in urban peripheries</a>. </p>
<p>We have <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/02637758231168869">shown</a> that people move back and forth between urban and rural places. They shift between jobs, localities and accommodations. </p>
<h2>Translocal lives</h2>
<p>Our research was based on 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork that we both conducted between 2015 and 2018. We were examining two kinds of spaces linked to seasonal and labour migration: rickshaw garages and mess dormitories. These are typically located on the margins of the city in neighbourhoods such as Mirpur, Rayerbazar, Kamrangirchar, Shonir Akhra and Badda. We interviewed more than 100 people passing through these spaces in search for work and income, from rickshaw drivers, construction workers and garment workers to small-scale entrepreneurs.</p>
<p>We found that both mess dormitories and rickshaw garages are brimming with movement and business. They accommodate varying numbers of workers throughout the year, depending on the seasons. They blur functions of sleeping, working and entrepreneurship. </p>
<p>In a 2019 paper for the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies, Khandoker Abdus Salam and Rezaul Karim <a href="https://www.bilsbd.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/A-Study-of-Rickshaw-Pullers-in-Dhaka-City.pdf">estimated</a> that there are 1.1 million cycle-rickshaws operating on the streets of Dhaka, accommodated in garages across the city. </p>
<p>Rickshaw garages vary significantly, from cramped tin shed storage spaces with a handful of rickshaws to large half-open structures of bamboo and corrugated iron. Some simply consist of an open field with anything from a handful of rickshaws to 200 vehicles. </p>
<p>Rickshaw drivers are almost exclusively men. They rent vehicles by the day. Most do not have a permanent home in the city. Instead, they use the provisional, rent-free accommodation the garages provide. </p>
<p>In their study, Salam and Karim found that only 45% of rickshaw pullers rent a room in the city with their family. Over 80% spend at least a week at their rural home every six months. </p>
<p>One driver we interviewed, Jalal, usually runs a fish farm on the coast and had turned to the rickshaw industry to supplement his earnings: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I do not drive a rickshaw permanently. I only came to Dhaka for four months. I lost my fish stock this rainy season due to heavy flooding.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Every night, Jalal slept on a bamboo platform above the garage in Dhaka along with about 25 other people. He hoped to be able to move back to his home and business in the countryside after the rainy season had ended.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A cycle-rickshaw driver on a Dhaka street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537296/original/file-20230713-29-vhravo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537296/original/file-20230713-29-vhravo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537296/original/file-20230713-29-vhravo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537296/original/file-20230713-29-vhravo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537296/original/file-20230713-29-vhravo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537296/original/file-20230713-29-vhravo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537296/original/file-20230713-29-vhravo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Drivers operate an estimated 1.1 million cycle-rickshaws in Dhaka.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/MFABGE_IUH8">Alexis Rodriguez/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Multidirectional migration</h2>
<p>Mess dormitories host a much broader segment of the rural–urban migrant population. The men, women and families housed there work across numerous industries: domestic help, construction, garment factories, rickshaw and car garages, small-scale businesses, street food stalls and local restaurants. </p>
<p>Some dormitories are horizontal two-storey buildings. Others are built vertically, rising to four or five storeys. While typically made of permanent materials, these dormitories can seem unfurnished, as the most common living arrangement within them is on the floor. No beds were provided in the dormitories for men that we visited.</p>
<p>Makeshift walls of cardboard sometimes create separate sleeping quarters for women. Since moving to Dhaka, ten years ago, Ishrat, a 38-year-old home-based embroidery worker and a widowed mother of three, has moved eight times, in search of cheap rent and the ability to work from home so she can look after her children. As she explained: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Every morning I rearrange this room with only one bed into a workshop. I teach embroidery work to women in the neighbourhood and do not mind sleeping on the floor as long as the room had sufficient electricity to continue my work after dark.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Dormitories offer flexible rental arrangements, from one-day or weekly rentals to monthly and year-long options. This allows people to move frequently.</p>
<h2>Cities as places of work</h2>
<p>Urbanisation in south Asia is often described in the media <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/mar/21/people-pouring-dhaka-bursting-sewers-overpopulation-bangladesh">in dystopian terms</a>. Cities are said to be overburdened by the pressure of migrants from rural areas, who have no other option than to settle in slums. </p>
<p>Two wrong assumptions underpin this kind of narrative. First, that the city is a bounded and self-contained unit that can somehow overflow. Second, that rural-urban migration is a one-way process, leading to permanent settlement.</p>
<p>Demographers have <a href="https://www.routledge.com/New-Forms-of-Urbanization-Beyond-the-Urban-Rural-Dichotomy/Champion-Hugo/p/book/9781138254831#:%7E:text=This%20book%20brings%20together%20a,ways%20of%20representing%20current%20trends.">long shown</a>, however, that the divide between city and countryside is increasingly blurred. </p>
<p>A primary driver of Dhaka’s rapid urban growth is rural-urban migration triggered by land loss, unemployment and <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/i1255b/i1255b03.pdf">river bank erosion</a>. But this kind of move doesn’t happen in a linear fashion, nor is it necessarily permanent. As development studies expert Rita Afsar <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/57a08d16e5274a31e0001632/WP-CP2.pdf">highlights</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Migration involves a spectrum of movement, from commuting or temporary, absence from the home for a couple of days at a time to seasonal or permanent relocation.</p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two people on a rickshaw in the countryside." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537300/original/file-20230713-15-flfrsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537300/original/file-20230713-15-flfrsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537300/original/file-20230713-15-flfrsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537300/original/file-20230713-15-flfrsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537300/original/file-20230713-15-flfrsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537300/original/file-20230713-15-flfrsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/537300/original/file-20230713-15-flfrsb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Translocal livelihoods see people migrate back and forth between the city and the countryside.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/t0iKsO-RsYQ">Hasib Matiur/Unsplash</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Dhaka is not merely a space of arrival or of residence. It is shaped by what the geographer Benjamin Etzold terms <a href="https://www.transient-spaces.org/blog/migrants-turn-cities-at-the-crossroads-into-transient-urban-spaces/">“translocality”</a>: people organising their lives and their livelihoods across different places. Doing so, as Ishrat and Jalal’s stories highlight, requires a monumental effort. </p>
<p>Cities need to be discussed not only in terms of their liveability but also in terms of their workability. What makes a city workable to people like Ishrat and Jalal is access to informal labour markets, cheap travel options, flexible housing and rental arrangements. It is also the possibility of maintaining translocal networks and livelihoods – of continuing to live between places.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208262/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shreyashi Dasgupta received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council ESRC – Cambridge Postdoctoral Fellowship Grant ES/W006391/1.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>The research conducted by Annemiek Prins was completed with the support of a grant from the Rosanna Fund for Women, as well as an Elphinstone Scholarship from the University of Aberdeen.</span></em></p>What makes a city workable to many people is access to informal labour markets, cheap travel options, flexible housing and rental arrangements.Shreyashi Dasgupta, Lecturer in Critical Social & Political Geography, University of LiverpoolAnnemiek Prins, Postdoctoral researcher and lecturer, Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, Radboud UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2084962023-06-29T11:00:05Z2023-06-29T11:00:05ZThe Johnson/Truss debacle of 2022 made people more afraid of starting businesses – new findings<p>The UK picked a bad year to have a political crisis in 2022. The markets were already jittery because the global economy was struggling to recover from COVID. The war in Ukraine drove up energy costs, leading to high inflation and a cost of living crisis in many developed economies. In the UK, these pressures had combined with the effects of Brexit to <a href="https://www.enterpriseresearch.ac.uk/the-cost-of-doing-business-2022q2-data-from-the-small-business-price-index/">sharply raise</a> the cost of doing business. </p>
<p>Then, in early July, Boris Johnson was <a href="https://theconversation.com/boris-johnson-resigns-as-prime-minister-heres-who-could-replace-him-186578">forced to resign</a> as prime minister, ushering Liz Truss into office. Her administration’s inaugural budget in September led to an economic shock as markets gave their judgement overnight. On the back of this, <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/uk-business-confidence-at-lowest-since-covid-lockdown/articleshow/95214510.cms?from=mdr">business confidence collapsed</a>.</p>
<p>This was the backdrop to our annual <a href="https://www.enterpriseresearch.ac.uk/global-entrepreneurship-monitor_-gem/">Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2022</a> (Gem) survey. We surveyed just over 10,000 people in the UK between June and late September (3,000 phone interviews and 7,000 web surveys). We found the UK was in the midst of an uncertain summer that made people less inclined to start businesses. The nation has duly lost ground in the entrepreneurial stakes to rival economies, though there are a few positives buried in the data as well. </p>
<h2>The Johnson/Truss effect</h2>
<p>By the time we had finished our first 2,000 phone interviews by late June 2022, <a href="https://www.gemconsortium.org/reports/latest-global-report">12.9% of respondents</a> were in the early stages of starting businesses. Once we had concluded our fieldwork in September, the rate of entrepreneurship among all 10,000 respondents was 11%, suggesting it declined over the summer. </p>
<p>If we just compare the phone interview statistics to factor out any potential variations in how people answer the two types of survey, it’s even more compelling. The final 1,000 phone interviewees in the weeks after Johnson had resigned showed an entrepreneurship rate of just 7.4%. This is hardly surprising as the relentlessly negative headlines about the state of politics and the economy filtered through to people’s economic choices. </p>
<p>This self-inflicted wound by the party of government also means the country’s entrepreneurship trend diverged from the US, France and Germany. Those countries have all seen sharp increases in early-stage entrepreneurial activity following the pandemic. The UK experience paints a depressing picture of how easy it is to shake the confidence of potential entrepreneurs. </p>
<p><strong>Adults setting up businesses by country, 2002-22 (%)</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534539/original/file-20230628-17-gy79qj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graph showing proportions of adults setting up businesses in different countries" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534539/original/file-20230628-17-gy79qj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534539/original/file-20230628-17-gy79qj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534539/original/file-20230628-17-gy79qj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534539/original/file-20230628-17-gy79qj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=336&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534539/original/file-20230628-17-gy79qj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534539/original/file-20230628-17-gy79qj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534539/original/file-20230628-17-gy79qj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Global Entrepreneurship Monitor</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is also evidence in our 2022 survey that adults are feeling less entrepreneurial in the UK than previously. The proportion of working-age adults not already running businesses who saw good opportunities for starting one fell year on year from 48% to 37%. In France, it remained the same at 52%, while Germany saw a drop of eight percentage points to 40%.</p>
<p>As the next graph shows, the UK’s fall in entrepreneurial spirit (orange line) is comparable to previous periods of economic uncertainty like the 2008 global financial crisis and the early months of the COVID pandemic in 2020. Coupled with this, the fear of failure among those who still see good business opportunities (yellow line) remains at an all-time high.</p>
<p><strong>UK perceptions of business opportunities, 2002-22</strong></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534540/original/file-20230628-15-cc6ueo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Graph showing perceptions of business opportunities" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534540/original/file-20230628-15-cc6ueo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534540/original/file-20230628-15-cc6ueo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534540/original/file-20230628-15-cc6ueo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534540/original/file-20230628-15-cc6ueo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=356&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534540/original/file-20230628-15-cc6ueo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534540/original/file-20230628-15-cc6ueo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/534540/original/file-20230628-15-cc6ueo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=447&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Orange = ‘There are good start-up opportunities where I live in next six months.’; Yellow = ‘There are good opportunities, but fear of failure would prevent me starting a business.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Global Entrepreneurship Monitor</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>More bad news and a couple of positives</h2>
<p>Our survey has been measuring the entrepreneurial activity of working-age adults in a wide range of countries in a comparable way since 1999, making it one of the longest-standing efforts at tracking these trends globally. The Gem surveys began as a joint research project between Babson College in the US and London Business School in the UK. As many as 49 countries participated in the most recent survey, with national teams composed of different academic institutions leading the data-gathering in each country. </p>
<p>The UK’s ranking in the overall quality of its entrepreneurship ecosystem also fell to 25th in 2022 from 18th the year before. This is assessed based on a survey of 36 entrepreneurship experts on 13 parameters, such as financing and physical infrastructure. In nine out of the 13 parameters, the UK was downgraded in 2022.</p>
<p>There are several silver linings. The proportion of women in the UK starting up businesses compared to men was 78% in 2022, an increase of five percentage points from the previous year. In the context of the overall discontent, this rise suggests that female entrepreneurship is quite resilient in the UK. For comparison, the equivalent figure is 65% in France and Germany and 89% in the US.</p>
<p>We also observe a continuation in the long-term trend of entrepreneurial activity among immigrants in the UK (13.7%) being higher than that of life-long residents (8.7%). The same is true of entrepreneurial activity among the non-white population, which was 16.2% compared to 10.2% among white people. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, the political uncertainties in the UK clearly harmed business confidence and, in turn, entrepreneurial activity. The way to avoid this is to ensure that government policy does not change drastically between prime ministers. We also need UK business-support initiatives to continue, like the <a href="https://helptogrow.campaign.gov.uk/">Help to Grow</a> programme, <a href="https://www.lepnetwork.net/local-growth-hub-contacts/">Growth Hub</a> network and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/innovate-uk">Innovate UK</a>. </p>
<p>As for the period since the end of our 2022 survey, the rate of entrepreneurial activity may well have further declined. This would make sense in view of the continuing cost of living crisis, with its combination of sticky inflation and rapid rises in interest rates. Until more people feel like starting businesses again, the downturn is probably grinding on – with an unhelpful push in the wrong direction from the government.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208496/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Hart receives funding from the Department for Business and Trade; Welsh Government; Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland; NatWest Group to aid the collection of the GEM data each year but all views are his own. . </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sreevas Sahasranamam does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2022 has some sobering data for the UK government.Mark Hart, Professor of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Aston UniversitySreevas Sahasranamam, Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Strathclyde Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2056652023-06-12T13:26:13Z2023-06-12T13:26:13ZSocial entrepreneurs have different reasons for creating their ventures: policymakers should take these into account<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528889/original/file-20230529-20-7cvlkt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rodger Bosch/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090951605000544?via%3Dihub">Social entrepreneurs</a> embrace social as well as economic value. They create ventures that aim to meet social needs. They are not only risk-takers and <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/258632?origin=crossref">proactive innovators</a> but have a strong ethical fibre. They are compassionate and morally <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0149206318793196">motivated</a> to create social ventures.</p>
<p>One such social venture is <a href="https://www.regenize.co.za/about-us">Regenize</a>, founded by Chad Robertson and Nkazimlo Miti in the <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/athlone-or-cape-flats-cape-town">Cape Flats</a> in the Western Cape province of South Africa.</p>
<p>The two social entrepreneurs wanted to make recycling a rewarding endeavour and educate young people about sustaining their environment. Their many <a href="https://www.sabfoundation.co.za/stories-1/chad-robertson-regenize">awards</a> and the global <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/videos/tv/2022/07/25/ia-reimagining-waste-spc-intl.cnn">recognition</a> they’ve received are testament to the importance of their mission and value creation, not just for their communities but beyond.</p>
<p>Yet, social entrepreneurs such as Chad and Nkazimlo and the ventures they create are not a monolithic group. They can vary in their goals, their motivations, how they judge their situations, and how they build their business in their local context.</p>
<p>Their operating context is shaped by government regulations, policies, financial support (or lack of it), an entrepreneurial ecosystem, and other factors. So, if societies want to promote social entrepreneurship, they must better understand all these motivations and approaches. </p>
<p>Their variety has implications for how advisers, policy makers, incubators or accelerators, and institutes of higher education can better support social entrepreneurs.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19420676.2022.2153902">study</a> explored what motivated different social entrepreneurs to develop businesses that assisted their communities. </p>
<p>We found that social entrepreneurs differed from for-profit entrepreneurs in their venture idea judgements, and strongly relied on their specific social goals and motivations in the creation of social ventures.</p>
<h2>Personal goals, missions and social motivations matter</h2>
<p>Our study was conducted over a 15-month period with 34 (social) entrepreneurs based in Cape Town.</p>
<p>The entrepreneurs had different professional experiences and were focused on a variety of social challenges. We provided them with three different business scenarios. We asked them to imagine being a founder of one of the three and talk us through how they would build this venture.</p>
<p>The aim was to understand the differences in their judgement, motivation and goals. </p>
<p>We found that the social founders used the same criteria for building a social business. But they differed on the importance they gave to each one. The criteria included market demand, competition, personal knowledge and skills, funding and investment requirements, moral and ethical values and social impact.</p>
<p>The differences depended on the needs of the communities or the specific target groups they were imagining building the venture for. They did this by initially looking inward, thinking and talking about their personal emotions and motivations.</p>
<p>When thinking about the business, they paid particular attention to personal and implicit information attributes. And they said they would have to adapt the selected business scenario to fit with an embedded need. </p>
<p>Embeddedness in this context means that they had an intimate knowledge of and concern for the needs of the specific social group or community. They did not try to keep an emotional distance. Instead they let their emotions play an active part in their evaluation process. This showed inner conflicts or tensions during their decision process.</p>
<p>Other social entrepreneurs focused on the feasibility of the business. For these entrepreneurs, their external governing context was more important because their target audience was broader. But they did also look inward to see if they would find an alignment between the business scenarios and their desired goal of social impact generation. </p>
<p>What we saw was that these two types of social entrepreneurs - the community-driven and mission-driven - focused on different criteria in the beginning of the venture creation process. They were driven by different goals and social motivations when continuing to develop the venture idea further. </p>
<p>These variations have implications for their stakeholders. Community-driven founders are more intrinsically motivated than mission-driven founders who focus on intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Which is why they differ on what they consider to be a social need they aim to address.</p>
<p>These variations suggest that advisers and policy makers should not assume that all entrepreneurs are mainly motivated by profits and wealth generation. They should consider their different motivations. Existing support programmes such as entrepreneurial training focus mostly on assisting entrepreneurs to develop their ideas and related business plans. They focus on generating financial value but not enough on what motivates the entrepreneurs to create social value.</p>
<h2>What support is needed</h2>
<p>Governmental institutions should pay more attention to aligning their policies and support infrastructure with the motivations of social entrepreneurship.</p>
<p>One way could be through the government adopting a regional approach. The development of local clusters governed by a permanent committee could support the individual entrepreneur by increasing their visibility, connectivity and interaction with other like-minded entrepreneurs or potential stakeholders. </p>
<p>Another way could be through incubators and accelerators that recognise the dual focus of social enterprises: economic and social dimensions.</p>
<p>Building support networks for social businesses could also help, as could facilitating access to funding. </p>
<p>University-linked centres, such as the <a href="https://www.gsb.uct.ac.za/berthacentre">Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship</a>, for example, also pay an important role in bringing together social entrepreneurs and their stakeholders.</p>
<p>Regenize started with the needs of its local communities in mind. But it went on to have broader impact. Enterprises can do this either directly by scaling, or indirectly by helping other ventures to create a similar business model and offering. </p>
<p>But they won’t be successful if they don’t have supportive policies, infrastructure and stakeholders that cater to and understand their goals and motivations for creating their social ventures.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205665/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Social entrepreneurs aren’t all the same. Policies should be designed to reflect this.Farsan Madjdi, Researcher in Entrepreneurship & Innovation, University of Cape TownBadri Zolfaghari, Senior Lecturer in Organisational Behaviour, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2060442023-06-04T11:19:10Z2023-06-04T11:19:10ZEmotional intelligence is the key to more successful entrepreneurs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528673/original/file-20230526-19-mrzmx4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=100%2C7%2C4376%2C2754&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Entrepreneurship flourishes when individuals in a society possess higher levels of well-being, adaptability, self-control and sociability.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Entrepreneurs have a key role to play in achieving the United Nations <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda">2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development</a>. This action plan, which has been adopted by all UN member countries, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/agenda-2030.html">including Canada</a>, was created to tackle today’s “most pressing social, economic and environmental challenges.”</p>
<p>While governments play a central role in achieving these goals, non- and for-profit organizations can accelerate this progress through innovation. That is where entrepreneurs — anyone who starts or owns a business — come into the picture.</p>
<p>Canada has <a href="https://www.gemconsortium.org/news/canada-performance-strong-compared-to-peers-in-latest-gem-global-report">one of the highest levels of entrepreneurial activity</a> among developed nations and was recently <a href="https://poll2019.trust.org/">ranked the best in the world for social entrepreneurship</a>. Social entrepreneurship focuses on addressing social issues such as poverty, illiteracy and discrimination.</p>
<p>To maintain its position as an entrepreneurial nation, Canada must continue to foster innovation. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-023-00775-1">Our recent research</a> on how emotional intelligence at the societal level impacts entrepreneurship can help Canada, and other nations, accomplish this.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1649261928877891584"}"></div></p>
<h2>About the study</h2>
<p>Using entrepreneurial activity data from the <a href="https://www.gemconsortium.org/">Global Entrepreneurship Monitor</a> in 24 countries, our study found that entrepreneurship flourishes when individuals in society possess higher levels of well-being, adaptability, self-control and sociability.</p>
<p>These are characteristics of societal emotional intelligence — a measure of the collective emotional intelligence of a particular society. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/per.416">Emotional intelligence</a> refers to the ability of an individual to recognize and understand their own emotions, as well as the emotions of others, and use this knowledge to make decisions. </p>
<p>At the societal level, emotional intelligence <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1069397120938690">plays a vital role in addressing challenges</a> present at different stages of the entrepreneurial process, such as idea generation, planning the launch, and growth of an enterprise.</p>
<p>However, the degree to which each characteristic of emotional intelligence impacts entrepreneurship <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/jsbm.12289">depends on the type of entrepreneurship</a>.</p>
<h2>Fostering commercial entrepreneurship</h2>
<p>Our research found three characteristics of societal emotional intelligence are more likely to foster commercial entrepreneurship: hedonic well-being, adaptability and self-control. Commercial entrepreneurship leads to innovation that contributes to a country’s economic growth by generating wealth.</p>
<p><strong>1. Hedonic well-being</strong> </p>
<p>Hedonic well-being is one of two types of perceived well-being. It refers to an individual’s perception of their own life satisfaction, happiness, optimism and self-esteem. </p>
<p>Hedonic well-being can help individuals navigate challenging situations that arise when working as an entrepreneur by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusvent.2003.08.001">providing them with a sense of control</a> over their situation. </p>
<p>Individuals with high levels of hedonic well-being are more likely to have characteristics associated with successful commercial entrepreneurs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young woman looking content as she types on an open laptop at a desk in an office." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528674/original/file-20230526-11640-wyl36y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528674/original/file-20230526-11640-wyl36y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528674/original/file-20230526-11640-wyl36y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528674/original/file-20230526-11640-wyl36y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528674/original/file-20230526-11640-wyl36y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528674/original/file-20230526-11640-wyl36y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528674/original/file-20230526-11640-wyl36y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Individuals with high self-esteem are better at navigating challenging situations as they arise.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>2. Adaptability</strong> </p>
<p>Individuals with high levels of adaptability are open to new information, willing to let go of preconceived notions and capable of adjusting to new or challenging situations.</p>
<p>An individual’s ability to adapt in the face of adversity sets them apart as exceptional. Individuals that are very successful <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1976-26087-000">often possess higher levels of adaptability</a>.</p>
<p>In the context of commercial entrepreneurship, having a high degree of adaptability <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2014.09.002">allows entrepreneurs to navigate uncertainty</a> and adapt to changes in the business environment.</p>
<p><strong>3. Self-control</strong></p>
<p>Self-control is a mental process that helps individuals <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.5.1252">align their thoughts and behaviours with their goals</a>, particularly during periods of adversity. </p>
<p>Self-control is beneficial for commercial entrepreneurs, as it encourages them to be mindful of the strategies needed to keep their goals in line with the ever-changing business environment. </p>
<p>Because self-control is valuable for managing commercial enterprises, societies that have more individuals with higher levels of self-control are more likely to facilitate commercial entrepreneurship.</p>
<h2>Fostering social entrepreneurship</h2>
<p>Our research found two characteristics of societal emotional intelligence are more likely to foster social entrepreneurship: eudaimonic well-being and sociability. Social entrepreneurship, as previously mentioned, leads to innovation that addresses social issues.</p>
<p><strong>1. Eudaimonic well-being</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.69.4.719">Eudaimonic well-being</a> refers to an individual’s perceived autonomy, self-acceptance, sense of purpose and ability to manage their environment.</p>
<p>The characteristics associated with eudaimonic well-being motivate individuals to make <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.09.034">greater contributions to the welfare of others</a> through social entrepreneurship. </p>
<p>While the characteristics of eudaimonic well-being are essential for both types of entrepreneurship, societies with higher levels of eudaimonic well-being tend to foster an environment more conducive for social entrepreneurship.</p>
<p><strong>2. Sociability</strong></p>
<p>The <a href="https://dictionary.apa.org/sociability">American Psychological Association defines sociability</a> as the tendency “to seek out companionship, engage in interpersonal relations, and participate in social activities.” </p>
<p>Sociability <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-9029.2006.00019.x">has three facets</a>: social awareness, emotional management and assertiveness. It plays a more significant role in social entrepreneurship, so societies with a larger amount of individuals with this trait are more likely to facilitate social entrepreneurship.</p>
<h2>Fostering emotional intelligence</h2>
<p>Entrepreneurship in Canada, both commercial and social, needs to flourish to help the country meet its sustainable development goals. For this to happen, Canada should implement strategies to build emotional intelligence among its entrepreneurs. </p>
<p>One way Canada could do this is by investing in programs to monitor, assess and diagnose ways to improve emotional intelligence among entrepreneurs. </p>
<p>In addition, given that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2012.01.010">emotional intelligence can be developed with training</a>, businesses and innovation hubs should develop emotional competencies among their entrepreneurs.</p>
<p>Finally, Canada should implement education curriculum focused on developing emotional intelligence in students to shape their entrepreneurial behaviours. By equipping students with emotional intelligence skills, Canada will nurture a generation of entrepreneurs ready to create wealth, tackle social challenges and create positive change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206044/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Etayankara Muralidharan receives funding from SSHRC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Saurav Pathak does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fostering emotional intelligence in entrepreneurs could help Canada meet its sustainable development goals.Etayankara Muralidharan, Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of International Business, Marketing, Strategy & Law, MacEwan UniversitySaurav Pathak, Associate Professor, Raymond A. Mason School of Business, William & MaryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2025312023-05-30T12:02:50Z2023-05-30T12:02:50ZExpert advice for budding UK entrepreneurs during a cost of living crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528221/original/file-20230525-25-gk56z3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/african-american-woman-wearing-green-shirt-643950166">ImageFlow/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Getting your foot on the career ladder can be a challenging experience. Looking for the right role within the right organisation or sector is often competitive, uncertain and stressful. </p>
<p>These kinds of concerns may be partly what persuades some young people to strike out on their own instead – to pursue an entrepreneurial path that will allow their creativity and individuality to thrive.</p>
<p>But of course, that is not a path without risk. Entrepreneurs face <a href="https://startups.co.uk/news/biggest-obstacle-to-starting-a-business/">a wide range</a> of other obstacles and pitfalls. Without the safety net of an employer, they operate at the mercy of the market, and <a href="https://www.beauhurst.com/blog/startup-fail-scale-exit/">failure rates</a> are high.</p>
<p>My <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/ET-03-2019-0052/full/html">research</a> highlights some of the key attributes required to be a successful entrepreneur, particularly <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-07139-3_5">in the digital age</a>, when social media makes any response from consumers immediate and intense. </p>
<p>Put simply, for an entrepreneur to succeed, they require a good idea, a well researched target customer, and funding. They also need the resilience and ability to take calculated risks, and a network which provides advice and support. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-finding-your-purpose-matters-and-four-ways-to-find-yours-203298?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Why ‘finding your purpose’ matters – and four ways to find yours</a></em></p>
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<p>So it’s not easy. And in the UK (as with many other countries) the current economic climate adds <a href="https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/insights/the-top-challenges-for-uk-smes-in-2023.html">further difficulties</a> for entrepreneurs, including the ongoing cost of living, the costs of being sustainable, and supply chain issues. </p>
<p>These all make the role of the state even more vital in sustaining enterprising environments and entrepreneurial spirits. This generally happens through the <a href="https://www.hoxtonmix.com/blog/government-support-for-entrepreneurs-in-the-uk/">provision</a> of things like grants, loans and tax relief. </p>
<p>But the current government has come up with <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spring-budget-2023-factsheet-cutting-simplifying-tax-for-businesses-to-invest-and-grow/spring-budget-2023-media-factsheet-cutting-simplifying-tax-for-businesses-to-invest-and-grow">plans</a> it hopes will make it easier for businesses to grow, which include a more manageable tax system (to allow small businesses to focus on their day-to-day operations) and new funding for research and development. </p>
<p>Post-Brexit, it is also keen to <a href="https://www.great.gov.uk/international/content/investment/how-we-can-help/global-entrepreneur-program/">attract global entrepreneurs</a> with a programme providing free mentoring, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/innovator-founder-visa">visa assistance</a> and networking opportunities. </p>
<p>There are welcome moves as well to improve <a href="https://www.sage.com/en-gb/blog/spring-budget-2023-announcements-business/#business">links between businesses</a> and universities in <a href="https://www.gov.uk/business-finance-support">England</a>, <a href="https://findbusinesssupport.gov.scot/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=tms-fbs&utm_content=business-support&gclid=CjwKCAjw3POhBhBQEiwAqTCuBtCQGa5rzwb9I4yO5ijynjs1gDY_m0B5CQjCMZ_6zpGGeEumTHgyhRoCfpgQAvD_BwE">Scotland</a>, <a href="https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/business-support">Northern Ireland</a> and <a href="https://businesswales.gov.wales/">Wales</a>. The idea here is for new firms to benefit from the specialist research and skills that universities can provide. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="University lecture in progress." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528249/original/file-20230525-25-iihryx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/528249/original/file-20230525-25-iihryx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528249/original/file-20230525-25-iihryx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528249/original/file-20230525-25-iihryx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528249/original/file-20230525-25-iihryx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528249/original/file-20230525-25-iihryx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/528249/original/file-20230525-25-iihryx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Specialist knowledge and skills are vital.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/back-view-man-presenting-students-lecture-478521652">Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>British universities have an important role in encouraging entrepreneurial activity and <a href="https://theconversation.com/snp-leadership-battle-where-is-the-message-of-economic-growth-in-scotland-200599">supporting</a> small businesses. Between now and the end of the decade it is thought that they will provide over <a href="https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/latest/insights-and-analysis/how-do-universities-support-creation-new">£11 billion</a> worth of guidance, advice and research. In the five-year period up to 2026, it has been estimated that around <a href="https://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/sites/default/files/field/downloads/2021-08/uuk-getting-results.pdf">20,000 businesses</a> will be created through universities.</p>
<p>There are also related organisations such as the <a href="https://www.nacue.com/">National Association of Colleges and University Entrepreneurs</a>, <a href="https://yes.org.uk/">Young Enterprise Scotland</a>, <a href="https://www.elevatoruk.com/">Elevator</a>, and <a href="https://www.convergechallenge.com/">Converge</a>, which all support budding entrepreneurs, helping students and graduates to develop their business-building skills. </p>
<h2>Inspiration and insight</h2>
<p>Research confirms that both the government and the <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-18243-3">university sector</a> are vital parts of the entrepreneurial landscape. They have the resources and expertise to be a decisive influence on whether or not the UK is a place that truly welcomes and encourages entrepreneurship. </p>
<p>There is no question that it ought to be. <a href="https://www.gbslepgrowthhub.co.uk/news/5-benefits-of-entrepreneurship-in-the-economy">Entrepreneurs are important</a> in any economy, creating jobs and wealth, and increasing competition and quality in a variety of sectors. </p>
<p>After years of researching entrepreneurship, I am optimistic that despite the ever-present challenges, there is good support out there if you know where to look for it. And my main piece of advice for any young person seeking to set up a business is to find that support. </p>
<p>Once you’ve found it, learn from it, and be inspired by it. Don’t assume that you will know the solution to every problem you encounter – instead, seek advice and expertise from as broad a network as possible.</p>
<p>Aside from that, always plan your next business move and be thorough in your research. Consider your unique selling point: how will your business enter the market, and what will keep customers interested?</p>
<p>For those with entrepreneurial ambitions, it is important to stress that it is never easy. They may be in for a rough (and often exciting) ride. But if you know where to find expertise and funding and are blessed with the necessary resilience and perseverance to navigate this volatile terrain, the opportunities for a fulfilling future are there for the taking.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202531/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert Crammond does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Finding the right kind of support is a good business move.Robert Crammond, Senior Lecturer in Enterprise, University of the West of ScotlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2004272023-03-01T19:15:03Z2023-03-01T19:15:03ZFirst Nations are using ‘creative disruption’ to foster economic growth in their communities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512515/original/file-20230227-2379-atkjkh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=194%2C389%2C6149%2C4057&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Squamish Nation councillor Khelsilem hold a ceremonial paddle after a groundbreaking ceremony at the First Nation's Sen̓áḵw housing development site in Vancouver in September 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>First Nations have been resisting the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019879137">historic and ongoing impacts of Canada’s extractive economy</a> on their communities by exercising <a href="https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100032275/1529354547314">their right to self-governance</a> and taking control of their economic futures.</p>
<p>Creative disruption stands in contrast to <a href="https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/bios/Schumpeter.html">creative <em>destruction</em></a>, a term coined by Austrian political economist Joseph Schumpeter. Schumpeter argued that capitalism causes old ideas and technology to quickly become obsolete through the process of innovation. In the pursuit of profit, capitalism ruthlessly and relentlessly eliminates old ideas and installs new ones.</p>
<p>Creative disruption, on the other hand, aims to make space for new ideas by forcing the old ways to adapt and adopt. First Nations communities are doing this in a number of ways.</p>
<p>As an academic with a background in urban land economics, I have studied how First Nations are using creative disruption to shape businesses, urban communities and the health-care system in Canada.</p>
<h2>Sen̓áḵw development project</h2>
<p>One of the ironies of modern Indigenous land law is how the reserve system defined by the Indian Act, originally <a href="https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/the_indian_act">designed to assimilate Indigenous nations and communities into mainstream Canadian culture</a>, has morphed into a strategic asset for First Nations.</p>
<p>As author Bob Joseph notes in <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/books/21-things-you-may-not-know-about-the-indian-act-1.4635204"><em>21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act</em></a>, the Squamish Nation lost 14 acres (about 0.05 square kilometres) of their territory in Vancouver to a lumber company through expropriation in 1904.</p>
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<img alt="A man in a suit speaks from behind a podium that says 'Building More Homes' on the front of it. In the background a group of people wearing fluorescent vests and hard hats stand in front of an excavator." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/512516/original/file-20230227-194-6o080d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during an announcement and groundbreaking ceremony at the Squamish Nation’s Sen̓áḵw housing development site in Vancouver in September 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
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<p>After a century of litigation, the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/little-known-history-of-squamish-nation-land-in-vancouver-1.5104584">Squamish Nation recovered some of the lost land</a> and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9109033/squamish-nation-breaks-ground-housing-development/">is now in the process of building Sen̓áḵw</a>, a massive economic development project in Kits Point, Vancouver.</p>
<p>Sen̓áḵw is the largest Indigenous-led housing retail development in Canadian history and will add much-needed housing supply <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-study-reveals-intensified-housing-inequality-in-canada-from-1981-to-2016-173633">to a market that has become unaffordable</a> for most. The development plans to build <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-squamish-nations-planned-development-on-reserve-land-in-vancouver/">11 towers and 6,000 housing units</a>.</p>
<h2>Naawi-Oodena urban reserve</h2>
<p>A second example of creative disruption is the creation of the <a href="https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/naaawi-oodena-now-official-urban-reserve-in-winnipeg/">Naawi-Oodena urban reserve</a> in Winnipeg. It’s <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/naawi-oodena-repatriation-winnipeg-largest-urban-reserve-1.6691359">the largest urban reserve in Canada</a>, covering 64 hectares. </p>
<p>Naawi-Oodena was officially established after the land the reserve sits on — the former Kapyong Barracks — was recently repatriated to <a href="https://treaty1.ca/treaty-one-nation/">the seven Treaty One First Nations</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-reserves-are-tests-of-reconciliation-114472">Urban reserves are tests of reconciliation</a>
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<p>Treaty One Nation <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/first-nations-file-lawsuit-over-kapyong-land-1.695601">fought to have the land returned to them</a> under the provisions of the <a href="http://www.tlec.ca/framework-agreement/">Treaty Land Entitlement Framework Agreement</a> after the Canadian government tried to transfer the land to a Crown corporation years ago.</p>
<p>After a prolonged legal process, a judge ruled the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/first-nations-not-consulted-on-kapyong-barracks-sale-court-rules-1.3192485">federal government failed to adequately consult with Treaty One Nation</a> and the land transfer was ruled illegitimate in 2015.</p>
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<p>An incorporated consortium run by the Treaty One Nation, called <a href="https://lpband.ca/treaty-one-development-corporation/">the Treaty One Development Corporation</a>, will oversee developments on Naawi-Oodena.</p>
<p>As a self-governing nation, Treaty One will set its own land management policies, potentially in contrast to the zoning and building codes of Winnipeg. In reality, it’s likely to gently push or disrupt urban development, rather than outright destroy current practices since its goal is to attract tenants, the majority of which will be non-Indigenous.</p>
<h2>First Nations health care</h2>
<p>First Nations entrepreneurs are also seeking out ways to revolutionize the Canadian health-care system. Enoch Cree Nation in Alberta entered into an agreement with contractors to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/private-orthopedic-surgical-facility-coming-to-enoch-cree-nation-next-year-1.6474534">create a private health clinic</a> offering simple hip and knee surgeries. </p>
<p>The provincial government will fund the procedures through medicare and publicly funded hospitals will still handle more complicated surgeries. </p>
<p>Enoch Cree Nation joins a growing number of private health clinics in Canada forming public-private partnerships. They are not the first First Nation to get involved with health care, either. </p>
<p>In 2012, Westbank First Nation <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/b-c-first-nation-plans-private-hospital-1.1298463">announced a plan to build a private, for-profit hospital</a>. Some constitutional experts <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/westbank-first-nation-hospital-likely-unconstitutional-says-expert-1.1288670">warned that Westbank First Nation was violating the Canada Health Act</a>, but <a href="https://infotel.ca/newsitem/westbank-first-nations-private-hospital-still-on-shaky-legal-ground/it22697">the nation responded by arguing</a> that, as a self-governing nation, it was not bound by federal laws.</p>
<p>Enoch Cree Nation’s private clinic will face other challenges. While COVID-19 has shaken the faith Canadians have in our health-care system, and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9458260/health-care-private-options-majority-canadians-support-poll">receptivity to private health care may be growing</a>, the affinity for public health care remains strong.</p>
<h2>Legal redress</h2>
<p>First Nations have also become creative disrupters by pursuing legal redress for past injustices. The courts have reached back through treaties all the way back to <a href="https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/royal_proclamation_1763/">the Royal Proclamation of 1763</a> to widen Canada’s constitution beyond the formal acts to include treaties with First Nations.</p>
<p>Institutional changes supporting disruption include <a href="https://laws.justice.gc.ca/eng/const/Const_index.html">Article 35 of the 1982 Constitution Act</a> that recognizes the “existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada.” This clause is widely interpreted as creating a nation-to-nation relationship between First Nations and Canada.</p>
<p>Equally important for commercial ventures is <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/i-5/">Article 87 of the Indian Act</a> which exempts First Nations land from taxation by any order of government. This means an urban reserve does not pay property tax to a municipality.</p>
<p>Despite <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2021/02/06/bob-joseph-why-the-indian-act-must-go-and-canada-will-be-better-for-it.html">criticism of the Indian Act by authors like Joseph</a>, Article 87 offers a major fiscal benefit for First Nations individuals and businesses on reserve. Although a complex area of law, this tax exemption is an important reason why First Nations may prefer to add land to existing reserves or to create new reserves, rather than owning land conventionally like corporations.</p>
<h2>Furthering reconciliation</h2>
<p>Despite some First Nations regaining rights and titles to their lands, Indigenous communities in Canada still <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/441/INAN/Reports/RP11714230/inanrp02/inanrp02-e.pdf">face many barriers to economic participation</a>. By engaging in the examples of creative disruption here, First Nations are working toward economic prosperity for their communities and, in the process, are also working toward reconciliation.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf">United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</a> — <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/british-columbians-our-governments/indigenous-people/aboriginal-peoples-documents/calls_to_action_english2.pdf">the framework for reconciliation according to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada</a> — states Indigenous people have the right to pursue their own means of economic development. By starting their own entrepreneurial and developmental projects, First Nations are engaging in their inherent “right to maintain and develop their political, economic and social systems or institutions.”</p>
<p>Reconciliation also works best when all parties involved benefit from changes. These examples of creative disruption will benefit non-Indigenous Canadians as well as Indigenous people by increasing the housing supply in Vancouver and Winnipeg, bringing remote First Nations into the economic orbit of cities and offering increased health treatment options.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200427/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gregory C Mason receives funding from The University of Manitoba and the Thorlakson Family Foundation Fund (Health related research).
</span></em></p>By starting their own entrepreneurial and developmental projects, First Nations are working toward economic prosperity for their communities and furthering reconciliation.Gregory C Mason, Associate Professor of Economics, University of ManitobaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1983312023-02-16T06:10:44Z2023-02-16T06:10:44ZWhy young people in every sphere – not just business and politics – should learn to lead<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510075/original/file-20230214-24-m5xy8p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/crowd-anonymous-people-walking-on-busy-594270185">Babaroga </a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Leadership is most commonly held to be the ability to motivate others to achieve set goals. For some, this means being heroic and special. The world stood still when Nelson Mandela died. His achievements alone – the freedom fighter turned political prisoner, the first black president of South Africa, the Nobel peace prize winner – <a href="https://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/biography">would qualify</a> him as a great leader. </p>
<p>For others, leadership is synonymous with management. But although these words are often used interchangeably, they <a href="https://www.proquest.com/openview/9e519b2df53655fd0f5f39c35480c1ac/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=37083">don’t</a> actually mean the same thing. You might well have had firsthand experience of a manager you would not necessarily choose to follow, but whom you must obey simply because they are in a position of authority and you don’t want to lose your job. </p>
<p>My research <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-05-2017-0160">shows</a> that what sets a leader apart from a manager is an extraordinary form of influence. And far from being the sole preserve of business and politics, every collective – no matter the profession or activity – needs someone at the helm. </p>
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<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/maths-that-will-help-you-as-an-adult-from-baking-a-cake-to-asking-for-a-pay-rise-198041">Maths that will help you as an adult: from baking a cake to asking for a pay rise</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-sharing-economy-can-expose-you-to-liability-risks-heres-how-to-protect-yourself-191560">The sharing economy can expose you to liability risks – here’s how to protect yourself</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/jacinda-ardern-resignation-has-people-wondering-when-to-quit-but-thats-the-wrong-way-to-think-about-burnout-198192">Jacinda Ardern resignation has people wondering when to quit – but that’s the wrong way to think about burnout</a></em></p>
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<h2>Core leadership skillsets</h2>
<p>At every stage and in every sphere of life, people need someone who can champion their values and fight for their needs. This means that even a 20-year-old in their first low-paid job should think about striving to gain leadership skills – and research identifies four main skillsets to develop.</p>
<p>Entrepreneurial skills involve identifying opportunities where others see problems or confusion, and being able to figure out how best to exploit them. Crucially, it means not being afraid to take risks. In 2018, Greta Thunberg risked jeopardising her school results when she started her lone school strike for climate, aged 15. The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/14/greta-thunberg-nominated-nobel-peace-prize">2019 Nobel peace prize</a> nominee has gone on to galvanise a global youth activist movement. </p>
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<img alt="A woman in a striped top against a pale blue background." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510299/original/file-20230215-22-5wwrsv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510299/original/file-20230215-22-5wwrsv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510299/original/file-20230215-22-5wwrsv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510299/original/file-20230215-22-5wwrsv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510299/original/file-20230215-22-5wwrsv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=942&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510299/original/file-20230215-22-5wwrsv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=942&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/510299/original/file-20230215-22-5wwrsv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=942&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-york-ny-november-19-2019-1565548465">Lev Radin</a></span>
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<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1048984305000652">Technical skills</a>, meanwhile, are the competencies and analytical abilities to excel within your field. The literary and intellectual mastery that Nigerian author and feminist thinker <a href="https://dro.dur.ac.uk/34441/">Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie</a> has achieved was made plain in 2021 when she was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-59514598">recognised</a> as one of the BBC’s 100 women of the year. </p>
<p>Interpersonal skills are the third set – the ability to understand and work with people. Being a good and compassionate communicator means you are able to make better decisions and build more effective teams. Mahatma Gandhi’s profound empathy, paired with his willingness to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nishacharya/2019/10/02/mahatma-gandhi-at-150-lessons-on-leadership/?sh=7dafeb98d7c1">live</a> like the people he sought to help, made him an excellent role model. </p>
<p>Last, conceptual skills allow people to process and analyse complex situations and generate new ideas. This means you are able to plan strategically and creatively solve problems. Martin Luther King inspired millions of people with his <a href="https://theconversation.com/mlks-vision-of-love-as-a-moral-imperative-still-matters-89946">unwavering vision</a> – a clear picture of a nation’s future, which he was able to effectively communicate to his fellow citizens. </p>
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<p>These leadership skills are transferable. Even if you change direction in your career, you take them with you. Before he ran for presidential office and served as US secretary of housing and urban development, <a href="https://achievement.org/achiever/benjamin-s-carson/">Ben Carson</a> was a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-story-of-the-surgery-that-made-ben-carson-famous--and-its-complicated-aftermath/2015/11/13/15b5f900-88c1-11e5-be39-0034bb576eee_story.html">pioneering</a> surgeon, the youngest chief of paediatric neurosurgery in the US. He has since founded a prominent policy-focused thinktank. </p>
<p>Carson achieved these professional milestones despite coming from a disadvantaged background. His story showcases how being a leader <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-68672-1_4">involves</a> setting your own goals (envisioning), putting in the work to achieve them (determination and decision-making), and seizing opportunities (risk management). </p>
<h2>Heroes and mentors</h2>
<p>One of the best ways to cultivate leadership skills is by learning from the successes – and failures – of the people you admire. Oprah Winfrey <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/oprah-winfrey-remembers-mentor-maya-angelou/story?id=23901061">cites</a> the author Maya Angelou, whom she met early in her career in the 1970s, as her greatest mentor. </p>
<p>Part of being mentored is learning to develop skills you already have. As Winfrey has said of Angelou: “‘When you learn, teach. When you get, give’ is one of my best lessons from her.” </p>
<p>Investing in personal growth is equally important. <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jls.21327">Read books</a>, do further training – make a conscious effort to diversify your sources, challenge yourself and keep learning. Take note of your strengths and weaknesses, and tailor your learning accordingly – put plans in place to address those gaps. Stay curious and humble and be methodical in tracking your progress. Remember, no one becomes a leader overnight and nor do they ever reach perfection. Politics is full of people in positions of leadership who lose their way.</p>
<p>Self-reflection is key. Ask yourself why you want to be a leader. Those who seek to wield authority purely for self-gratification often fail. Leadership is best framed as <a href="https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/why-leaders-lose-their-way">serving</a> whomever you propose to lead.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198331/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christian Harrison does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The conceptual, technical, entrepreneurial and interpersonal skills that make a good leader are crucial to every profession and activity. Developing them will enrich your life.Christian Harrison, Reader in Leadership, School of Business and Creative Industries, University of the West of ScotlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1976222023-02-06T15:03:21Z2023-02-06T15:03:21ZI introduced social entrepreneurship to my trainee teachers – why it’ll make them better at their jobs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506819/original/file-20230127-3270-6vhvy8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Teachers can get their pupils thinking about different ways to create sustainable livelihoods through something as simple as a vegetable garden at school.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jasmin Merdan/Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The daily headlines from South Africa are largely gloomy. The country’s government seems unable to address a <a href="https://www.enca.com/analysis/sas-electricity-crisis-17-years-rolling-blackouts">years-long electricity crisis</a> that is steadily worsening. Unemployment <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-29/south-africa-jobless-rate-drops-to-third-highest-in-the-world">is high</a>. Food prices <a href="https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/food-prices-in-south-africa-continue-to-surge/">are climbing</a>. </p>
<p>But there are pockets of excellence – like stories <a href="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-09-28-social-enterprises-could-be-an-answer-to-south-africas-development-challenges-but-investors-are-in-short-supply/">of social entrepreneurship</a>, an approach that uses business principles to create positive social and environmental impact. <a href="https://res.cloudinary.com/do95jfmcf/image/upload/v1624300757/website/publications/210607_BC_Early_Stage_Funding_Report_V3-compressed_nxdwrk.pdf">It involves</a> identifying social problems using entrepreneurial principles to develop, fund, and implement solutions. </p>
<p>Though entrepreneurship of any kind is not easy, it can instil incredible tenacity in the face of adversity. There are lessons here. For the past seven years I’ve sought to help trainee teachers harness those lessons by introducing them to the concept of social entrepreneurship.</p>
<p>To do so, I start with “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk9I3Iq3Dow">Who Cares?</a>”, a documentary by Brazilian filmmaker Mara Mourão. It’s about social entrepreneurs from seven countries who discover new and innovative ways to solve some of society’s most pressing matters. They do so while working with few resources and catering to fundamental human needs that governments, particularly in the global south, cannot provide. </p>
<p>I use this film in my classes to assist future teachers in understanding how global problems influence countries and to encourage students to think critically and imaginatively about ways to help lessen inequality in their communities. </p>
<p>This is critical for teachers. Many of the students who graduate from our programme will go on to work in disadvantaged communities where social entrepreneurship could create real change. It could also give pupils a chance to explore how they might pursue social entrepreneurship as a career. </p>
<h2>How it started</h2>
<p>The major aim of existing school and university curricula is to prepare students for higher education and to acquire a degree and subsequently work for a company. The emphasis is on improving people’s own lives rather than thinking about how to assist the communities in which they reside. By teaching my students about social entrepreneurship, I offer them a practical way to enact social justice. This is the notion that everyone should have equal rights and opportunities in society’s social, economic, and political spheres. </p>
<p>In 2016, I set out <a href="http://ersc.nmmu.ac.za/articles/ESRC_Sept_2017_Waghid_and_Oliver_Vol_6_No_2_pp_76-100.pdf">to study</a> whether a group of 43 future teachers could grasp and apply the concept of social entrepreneurship. </p>
<p>I was drawn to social entrepreneurship education because it often incorporates hands-on, experiential learning, which may be more interesting and beneficial for students than traditional classroom instruction. This was appealing: it would allow me to see the effect of my teaching on real-world issues.</p>
<p>Mourão’s 2013 documentary delves into the lives of social entrepreneurs such as Nobel Prize winner <a href="https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2006/yunus/biographical/">Muhammad Yunus</a> of Bangladesh, as well as others from Brazil, Peru, Tanzania, Canada, Germany, Switzerland and the United States, whose socially beneficial ventures have significantly and positively affected certain communities.</p>
<p>Prior to seeing the documentary, hardly any of the students understood what social entrepreneurship was. Some students saw a clear connection between it and corporate social responsibility. The latter, though, is more concerned with the financial and social aims of increasing a company’s competitiveness than with improving people’s lives.</p>
<p>Subsequent cohorts of trainee teachers have also not initially grasped the concept of social entrepreneurship. The rigid South African school curriculum appears to be the root cause of this conceptual gap. Most young people are not given the chance at school to think critically and creatively, and the curriculum doesn’t offer enough opportunities for students to learn about or implement social entrepreneurship.</p>
<h2>Towards establishing a community</h2>
<p>The film, both for the initial cohort whose reactions I documented in a <a href="http://ersc.nmmu.ac.za/articles/ESRC_Sept_2017_Waghid_and_Oliver_Vol_6_No_2_pp_76-100.pdf">research paper</a>, and for those who have followed, seemed to spark the students’ curiosity. It also showed them that seemingly small projects can count as entrepreneurship. Creating a vegetable garden at school is a way to teach learners the necessary skills and knowledge to be self-sufficient and aware of economic and environmental sustainability. </p>
<p>But what would this look like in practice?</p>
<p>To find out, the 2016 cohort and I identified a historically underprivileged high school in Cape Town where we hoped to help develop various sorts of social innovation and entrepreneurship. Then we discovered that the school was already involved in a community engagement project through an annual market day. The proceeds were used to host an annual awareness campaign aimed at recognising, appreciating, and honouring the contributions of elderly South African citizens in the community. </p>
<p>Rather than starting something new, the trainee teachers worked with pupils taking part in the market day to help build their social ventures. This involved applying what they learned from “Who Cares?” to develop business plans. </p>
<p>And they learned about another important aspect of social entrepreneurship: listening to communities rather than assuming they know how to solve existing problems. Communities can enlighten universities about what needs to happen, what is already being done, and what collaboration might look like, as seen in the example of the school above.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197622/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zayd Waghid received funding in 2019 from the National Research Foundation for a project called "Cultivating Social Entrepreneurial Education in Universities and Schools". He is currently an executive member of the South African Education Research Association.</span></em></p>Though entrepreneurship of any kind is not easy, it can instil tenacity in the face of adversity. There are lessons here for trainee teachers.Zayd Waghid, Associate professor, Cape Peninsula University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1924382022-11-09T17:32:02Z2022-11-09T17:32:02ZEntrepreneurs know that failure is sometimes necessary – here’s what we can learn from them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493100/original/file-20221102-21-1n9s7x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=102%2C29%2C4786%2C3224&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/businessman-hand-stops-domino-continuous-overturned-1426532582">Candyclub / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Failure isn’t pleasant but it is inevitable. And often, it is a stepping stone on the way to success. This is especially true in entrepreneurship. Given the considerable degree of <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/01/24/start-ups-across-uk-going-bust-need-careful-management-economy/">uncertainty and ambiguity</a> associated with starting and running a business, <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJEBR-02-2019-0085/full/html">failure is a common phenomenon</a>.</p>
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<p><em>You can listen to more articles from The Conversation, narrated by Noa, <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/audio-narrated-99682">here</a>.</em></p>
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<p>For the last decade, I have studied <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-05-2017-0160">entrepreneurs</a> and the keys to their success. Unsurprisingly, many have failed more times than they have succeeded. While failure may initially be a blow to your confidence and even put you in financial trouble, it is not the end of the road. Some of the greatest innovations are based on several failed attempts. </p>
<p>One of the entrepreneurs I studied was the founder of a <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JWL-01-2015-0004/full/html">pharmaceutical company in Nigeria</a>. Keen to set themselves apart from the competition, this company started out by investing in niche drugs for the elderly. After a couple of months, it became clear there was no market for it and they suffered a significant loss. Instead of giving up, they conducted more market analysis and identified the company’s location as the problem. By moving, it grew to be one of the most successful retail outlets in the region. </p>
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<img alt="Fail Better" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492275/original/file-20221028-40947-7fl4wu.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/fail-better-129121?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022+Fail+Better&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Fail Better</a></strong>, a series for those of us in our 20s and 30s about navigating the moments when things aren’t quite going as planned. Many of us are tuned into the highlight reel of social media, where our peers share their successes in relationships, careers and family. When you feel like you’re not measuring up, the pieces in this special <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022+Fail+Better&utm_content=InArticleTop">Quarter Life</a> series will help you learn how to cope with, and even grow from, failure.</em></p>
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<p>Failure means that there is an opportunity to grow and do something better. It should be viewed as a challenge and a minor setback, not necessarily a sign that you’re in the wrong field or that your goals are unreachable. </p>
<p>Indeed, entrepreneurs often stress that taking <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/JWL-01-2015-0004">risks is important to the success of their business</a>. </p>
<p>Sir James Dyson <a href="https://sg.news.yahoo.com/sir-james-dyson-risks-failures-making-good-products-031111374.html">struggled for five years</a> to make the world’s first cyclone vacuum cleaner work. It took him 5,126 prototypes before number 5,127 succeeded. In the meantime, he had gone into debt and his wife was growing vegetables and raising chickens to get enough food to support the family. He took significant risks in his business and even signed his house to the bank. Now a multibillion dollar company, James Dyson insists that although its finances have changed dramatically, his company’s spirit of risk-taking has stayed the same. </p>
<p>It is worth noting, however, that despite their propensity to take risks, entrepreneurs tend to be analytical and calculative about this. Before making decisions, they consider the probability of a loss and how it could be minimised. In other words, preparing to fail can help mitigate its effect. </p>
<h2>Planning to fail</h2>
<p>A 2017 biographical analysis of entrepreneurs looked at the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11365-017-0467-2">important role of resilience</a> in their success. To an entrepreneur, resilience is the ability to anticipate possible risks, cope effectively with unforeseen experiences, and adjust to changes. Successful entrepreneurs are usually good at picking themselves up.</p>
<p>For you to be resilient, failure needs to be viewed as an opportunity to reevaluate and reorganise your past decisions. It is important to have a back-up plan. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/JSBED-05-2017-0160">Several entrepreneurs I interviewed</a> shared that they draft out plans and anticipate changes in their business. The plan provides reassurance and a map to try again if they do fail. Some of these entrepreneurs had big customers on which the profitability of their business depended. They drafted out plans considering the impact on their business if they were to lose that customer. Would the business survive? What effect would it have on their profitability? What measures could be put in place to reduce the impact? These questions guided them in their plans, and could inspire your thinking before you take a risk.</p>
<p>As an entrepreneur, it is important to recognise opportunities to grow or reach a new market. Again, failure can help with this mindset. Sometimes being successful makes you complacent – by doing the same thing repeatedly, you don’t learn how to grow and improve. Although failure can be a hiccup, it opens your mind to new opportunities and perspectives. By failing, you learn how you can do things better. </p>
<p>Even great companies understand the value of failure. When Coca-Cola introduced the “new coke” in 1985, the fiasco cost the company millions. But ten years later, then-CEO Roberto Goizueta described it as the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/11/business/company-news-ten-years-later-coca-cola-laughs-at-new-coke.html">best thing that happened to Coca-Cola</a>. The company learned from this and since then has provided other versions of the product while keeping the existing “classic” Coke. </p>
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<img alt="A young man sitting in front of a laptop with his head in his hands" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493105/original/file-20221102-20-bmomac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/493105/original/file-20221102-20-bmomac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493105/original/file-20221102-20-bmomac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493105/original/file-20221102-20-bmomac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493105/original/file-20221102-20-bmomac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493105/original/file-20221102-20-bmomac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/493105/original/file-20221102-20-bmomac.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">When you’re in the moment, it’s difficult to see how failure can be a good thing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/head-shot-desperate-millennial-mixed-race-1660490368">fizkes / shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Failing on a grand scale</h2>
<p>Failure can affect entire companies or even economies. Take the 2008 financial crisis, which caused <a href="https://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/en/analyses/the-global-financial-crisis-causes-and-political-response/">recessions in several countries</a>. While of course not every issue raised by the crisis has been solved, the aftermath did result in reams of new legislation, the creation of new oversight agencies, and better structures to prevent similar failures from happening in the future. </p>
<p>More stringent measures have been put in place to ensure that the finance sector is more fiscally responsible and regulated. Both in the UK and internationally, laws have been introduced to <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/news/2017/september/the-financial-crisis-10-years-on-fact-sheet.pdf">make senior management in banks more accountable</a>, while remuneration rules now better align incentives and rewards to discourage misconduct.</p>
<p>In the US, the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/investing/dodd-frank-act/">Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act</a> ensures stability and oversight of the financial system. In the UK, <a href="https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/news/2017/september/the-financial-crisis-10-years-on-fact-sheet.pdf">the Financial Stability Board</a> was created to monitor and address risks from institutions and activities across countries. Capital requirements on large banks are now several times higher than before the 2008 recession, and complexity in derivatives markets has been reduced.</p>
<p>If nations can fail, do not be deterred when you do. Rather than running away, embrace and learn from it. In the world of entrepreneurship, there will always be change and turbulence. Those who “fail forward” and learn from their mistakes will eventually be successful.</p>
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022+Fail+Better&utm_content=InArticleTop">Quarter Life</a></strong> is a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties.</em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192438/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christian Harrison does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The business world shows that making mistakes can build resilience and prime you to look for better opportunities.Christian Harrison, Reader in Leadership, School of Business and Creative Industries, University of the West of ScotlandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1759972022-10-27T14:38:50Z2022-10-27T14:38:50ZNigeria’s education for entrepreneurs needs to keep it real, not just in the classroom<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491710/original/file-20221025-20-aybb6a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An entrepreneur</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Africa is home to over <a href="https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/documents/youth/fact-sheets/YouthPOP.pdf">200 million</a> people aged between 15 and 24, according to UN data. The continent has the largest population of young people in the world. </p>
<p>This should be a sign of great productive potential. Unfortunately, youth unemployment and under-employment have held productivity back, resulting in a very <a href="https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099740006132214750/pdf/P17782005822360a00a0850f63928a34418.pdf">slow pace</a> of development in Africa. </p>
<p>Shortly after the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/17/what-is-the-arab-spring-and-how-did-it-start">“Arab Spring”</a>, when youth movements helped to topple the governments of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, the Africa Development Bank <a href="https://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Publications/Economic_Brief_-_Accelerating_the_AfDB%E2%80%99s_Response_to_the_Youth_Unemployment_Crisis_in_Africa.pdf">predicted</a> that the lack of decent employment opportunities in Africa could undermine social cohesion and political stability. </p>
<p>In Nigeria, the 2020 <a href="https://harvardhrj.com/2020/11/endsars-the-movement-against-police-brutality-in-nigeria/">EndSARS protest</a> showed that youth unemployment had become an emergency needing urgent attention. </p>
<p>The highest unemployment rate recorded in Nigeria in 2020 was for young people between the ages of 15 and 24. In that age bracket, <a href="https://nairametrics.com/2020/08/14/13-9-million-nigerian-youth-are-unemployed-as-at-q2-2020-nbs/">40.8% (13.9 million)</a> of young Nigerians were unemployed.</p>
<p>Even education isn’t a guarantee of a decent job. Unemployment among people with a doctorate degree stood at <a href="https://businessday.ng/opinion/article/16-9-of-nigerias-phd-holders-are-jobless-nbs/">16.9%</a> in 2020. Many PhD graduates still roam the streets and the online space in search of decent jobs that fit into the qualification. </p>
<p>Over a decade before the EndSARS protest, Nigeria’s ministry of education, in partnership with the <a href="https://www.nuc.edu.ng/">National Universities Commission</a>, introduced an entrepreneurship skills development curriculum in Nigerian universities making it a compulsory course for University undergraduates.</p>
<p>Funds were provided for the establishment of entrepreneurship centres where students and lecturers could develop the capacity for an entrepreneurial mindset.
These centres are also meant to serve as hubs that will provide mentorship and support for faculty and student entrepreneurs. </p>
<p>The goal is to support the emergence of a university ecosystem where students and lecturers create value that will attract financial returns. This will in turn give Nigerian graduates more options in their working lives – not just competing for white collar jobs.</p>
<p>Ten years later, the rate of graduate unemployment is <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/812300/youth-unemployment-rate-in-nigeria/">still on the
increase</a>. This is beginning to expose the need to rethink the design, delivery and partnerships for implementing the Nigerian entrepreneurship education program.</p>
<p>My <a href="https://www.academia.edu/64846095/STUDENTS_EXPERIENCE_OF_ENTREPRENEURSHIP_EDUCATION_AS_DRIVERS_OF_ENTREPRENEURSHIP_SKILLS_ACQUISITION">PhD research</a> sought to contribute to this by exploring the student experience of entrepreneurship education in Lagos and Ogun states universities. </p>
<p>I found that participating students had a high level of entrepreneurship skills, but didn’t really want to have to use them. They did not perceive entrepreneurship as a way to achieve their goals in life, and were still hoping for white collar jobs. The solution, I believe, is for the curriculum and the teaching support to be more realistic about business – partly by drawing on actual entrepreneurs as a resource.</p>
<h2>Where to focus for impact</h2>
<p>I gave questionnaires to 2,394 final year students and conducted interviews with six directors of entrepreneurship development centres in Lagos and Ogun States. </p>
<p>One thing I wanted to understand was what aspect of entrepreneurship programmes might produce the necessary impact fastest. Student engagement, student support, teaching quality and teaching resources were the aspects I looked at. Of these, teaching quality showed the strongest potential to make an impact quickly. </p>
<p>The implication is that entrepreneurship education lecturers and facilitators need to know what to teach, what not to teach, and how to teach. </p>
<p>In a nutshell, lecturers who are entrepreneurial themselves will be better teachers of entrepreneurship. Their personal stories will make a huge difference.</p>
<p>The findings also provide evidence that effective entrepreneurship education programmes require collaboration. </p>
<p>When it comes to supporting students, only one of the universities in my study had a structured programme to help students grow the businesses they started. Other universities provided walk-in opportunities for funders and investors to support student businesses.</p>
<p>Structures should be put in place for student grants, competitions, seed funding, mentoring, accelerators and other opportunities that support student businesses. It’s up to university management to do this. </p>
<p>Support from external stakeholders would then be an extra resource rather than a pillar holding up the university’s programme.</p>
<p>One of the directors of the Entrepreneurship and Skills Development Centres pointed out that entrepreneurship education was not cheap to provide but government was not providing adequate teaching and learning resources. Large classes of over 600 students also made it hard to teach effectively. Students should be able to work in smaller groups and teams. </p>
<h2>Resources to use</h2>
<p>Government funding seems to be dwindling, as evidenced by the recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerias-endless-lecturer-strikes-insights-from-some-essential-reads-190805">lecturers’ strike</a>. So there might be a need to attract external stakeholders to sponsor competitions, clubs and student teams. </p>
<p>The learning experience of students should entail being directly in touch with the realities of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs. It should not only involve reading about, hearing about, talking about, or writing about entrepreneurship. </p>
<p>Facilitators of such courses should give students activities that connect them with the world of entrepreneurs. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerias-universities-can-find-funds-and-produce-job-creators-heres-how-190155">Nigeria's universities can find funds and produce job creators: here's how</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Not every aspect of the curriculum can be taught by academics. There should be linkages that provide opportunities for practising entrepreneurs to be mentors, facilitators and funders of student entrepreneurs.</p>
<p>Sometimes the street trader, roadside mechanic or roadside food vendor is the best person to teach students about starting a business. </p>
<p>Other useful models are people with many years of experience failing and succeeding as an entrepreneur. </p>
<h2>Mapping the way forward</h2>
<p>A sustained entrepreneurship skills development programme requires a collaborative approach in which universities, business people, successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurs and students are active participants. </p>
<p>University managers need to provide structures that will open up the universities for collaborations with entrepreneurs and industries to provide support in terms of seed funding, infrastructure, human resources and technical expertise. </p>
<p>The universities should base decisions about interventions and partnerships on data about what has the most impact.</p>
<p>Commercialisation of university products and outputs should be encouraged. Entrepreneurial lecturers should be valued. The system should welcome a handshake between theory and practice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175997/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bukola Amao-Taiwo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Sometimes the street trader, roadside mechanic or food vendor is the best person to teach students about entrepreneurship.Bukola Amao-Taiwo, Researcher, Academic Developer,learning experience designer and Student Coach, University of LagosLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1881082022-10-10T11:59:43Z2022-10-10T11:59:43ZHow colleges and universities can get innovation wrong (and how they can get it right)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487860/original/file-20221003-9808-6r6og2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C0%2C5447%2C3645&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Collaboration and co-ordination between multiple perspectives is a key part of successful innovation.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As Canada begins to understand and navigate the global post-pandemic landscape, our country’s ability to innovate will be an important success factor in its recovery. The pandemic <a href="https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/global-innovation-clusters/en/canadas-cluster-projects-covid-19-response">saw massive strides made in innovation</a>. This forward momentum provides an opportunity for Canada to build a more resilient and robust post-COVID economy.</p>
<p>Colleges and universities have an important role to play in this because they are increasingly stepping into key roles in innovation and entrepreneurship. Universities in particular are key enablers of innovation, as we saw during the pandemic when <a href="https://theconversation.com/canada-needs-to-invest-more-money-into-science-innovation-to-help-prevent-the-next-global-crisis-182575">scholars played important roles in vaccine development</a>.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://researchmoneyinc.com/articles/applied-research-in-support-of-a-resilient-and-sustainable-economic-recovery/">important as post-secondary institutions are in the innovation space</a>, we believe there are three main ways these institutions can get it wrong: by being <a href="https://www.innovatingcanada.ca/innovation/canadian-innovation/how-macewan-fosters-inclusive-innovation-across-the-spectrum/">too tech-centric, siloed rather than collaborative and by overemphasizing the role of problem-solving</a>. </p>
<p>If post-secondary institutions want to continue to play a key role in innovation and entrepreneurship, they must transform for the better.</p>
<h2>Tech-inclusivity, not tech-centricity</h2>
<p>While innovation often includes technology, post-secondary institutions often make the mistake of inflating its importance. Post-secondary institutions should approach innovation from a tech-<em>inclusive</em> standpoint, as opposed to a tech-<em>centric</em> standpoint. </p>
<p>Tech-centricity refers to the overemphasis on technology-related innovations and startups, like software or application design. Tech-inclusivity encourages institutions to view tech innovations and startups as one of many ventures, not the be-all, end-all of innovation. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man holding a robotic arm and talking to a woman in a hijab in front of a laptop screen" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488621/original/file-20221006-7785-7pbdko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488621/original/file-20221006-7785-7pbdko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488621/original/file-20221006-7785-7pbdko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488621/original/file-20221006-7785-7pbdko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488621/original/file-20221006-7785-7pbdko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488621/original/file-20221006-7785-7pbdko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488621/original/file-20221006-7785-7pbdko.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Innovation involves more than just technology — other types of innovation, like social innovation, are just as important.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tech-centricity distracts from the broader contributions that innovation can make. Innovation is not merely about developing new algorithms, tools or inventions, but also includes emancipatory social innovation aimed at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2017.64">identifying and addressing societal inequities</a>, with goals like prosperity for all.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0007650309356201">Indigenous people have turned to social entrepreneurship</a> to improve their own lives and the lives of those in their communities. For Indigenous innovators, profit-making must be a channel to enhanced social or community outcomes.</p>
<p>Post-secondary institutions can improve their own approach to innovation by enabling or expanding supports and resources for non-tech ventures.</p>
<h2>Interdisciplinary collaboration</h2>
<p>A diversity of disciplines across faculties and departments makes post-secondary institutions uniquely suited for bringing interdisciplinary lenses to social issues. However, many institutions are structured in a way that runs counter to interdisciplinary collaborations, resulting in policies and procedures that often lead to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su11236860">organizational silos</a>.</p>
<p>These silos extend to innovation and entrepreneurship spaces and programs on campuses. While innovation centres have become nearly standard <a href="https://www.macewan.ca/academics/centres-institutes/social-innovation-institute/">fixtures within post-secondary institutions</a>, organizational silos and resources often give rise to highly politicized or competitive dynamics that can confuse new innovators and entrepreneurs who don’t know which centres to engage with. </p>
<p>It’s essential to foster collaborations with government, industry and community partners like nonprofit organizations. Post-secondary institutions are uniquely positioned to <a href="http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1280">serve as this critical network connector</a>. </p>
<p>Post-secondary institutions should incentivize and enable collaboration among multiple innovation and entrepreneurship centres and resources. One way this could occur is through an umbrella organization structure that funnels students and other stakeholders to the most appropriate centre or resource.</p>
<h2>Beyond problem solving</h2>
<p>Just as the design and structuring of innovation centres often prioritize existing silos, innovations themselves tend to focus too much on solving problems. Post-secondary institutions are sometimes wrongfully thought of as the solution to the <a href="https://www.universityaffairs.ca/news/news-article/canadas-innovation-gap-remains-new-report-finds/">innovation gap</a>, rather than a partner and enabler of a robust innovation ecosystem.</p>
<p>Innovation is not only about solving societal problems, but about gaining a better understanding of these key problems and who their target audience is. A key ingredient for understanding problems, particularly complex problems, is bringing different perspectives together.</p>
<p>For example, addressing the fragility of the food system, <a href="https://www.ipes-food.org/pages/covid19">which was exposed at the beginning of the pandemic</a>, requires collaboration and co-ordination between multiple perspectives: policy-makers, nutrition experts, social welfare programs, the agriculture sector, the supply chain network, non-governmental organizations and restaurants.</p>
<h2>Keeping the end in mind</h2>
<p>Although designed with good intentions, innovations can unwittingly be designed based on biases, resulting in limited impacts, or worse, unintentional negative impacts and further social, economic, political or psychological marginalization. </p>
<p>For example, innovators might assume <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0007650309356201">the aim of entrepreneurship is for profit</a> instead of creating value by integrating knowledge and talent with community needs.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Hands of a diverse group of people connecting a puzzle together on a desk" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487861/original/file-20221003-6349-6mk9h9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/487861/original/file-20221003-6349-6mk9h9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487861/original/file-20221003-6349-6mk9h9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487861/original/file-20221003-6349-6mk9h9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487861/original/file-20221003-6349-6mk9h9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487861/original/file-20221003-6349-6mk9h9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/487861/original/file-20221003-6349-6mk9h9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">To solve real problems that matter, innovation must be co-designed with community partners and end users.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Regardless of the type of innovation or the intention of it, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.05.160">co-designing the innovation with end users</a> is where universities and other post-secondary institutions are most poised to make a significant contribution. Here, we use the term “end user” to describe the individuals and communities that the social innovation is aimed at serving.</p>
<p>Post-secondary institutions play a role by contributing the ideas and talent that spark innovation, but only through meaningful engagement with end users will the fire of innovation truly burn. To solve real problems that matter, innovation must be co-designed with community partners and end users.</p>
<p>Institutions should engage with <a href="https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/what-is-human-centered-design">human-centred design or thinking approaches</a> to ensure that innovative solutions are appropriate, welcome and impactful for the communities they are designed to serve.</p>
<h2>Innovation is the future</h2>
<p>Canada’s post-secondary institutions form a vast and diverse network of trend-setting and trend-breaking research and innovation. This is reflected in the <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220107/dq220107g-eng.htm">billions of dollars the higher education sector spends</a> on research and development and the millions of dollars the <a href="https://www.innovation.ca/news/government-canada-invests-more-330-leading-edge-research-projects-universities-across-country">federal government has invested in innovation</a>.</p>
<p>While post-secondary institutions are poised to be on the cutting edge of pressing global challenges, <a href="https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/climate-change/canadas-green-future/20234">including climate change</a>, they must understand that innovation is an ongoing learning system, not a one-time destination.</p>
<p>Part of ongoing learning is being able to adapt effectively to situations that arise. Current supply chain issues exist not because the system is obsolete but rather because <a href="https://www.accenture.com/ca-en/insights/consulting/coronavirus-supply-chain-disruption">we have not adapted to address changing global system complexity</a>. Innovation will always be a work in progress and the sector can always be improved for the benefit of all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188108/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Kuziemsky receives funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Leanne Hedberg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If post-secondary institutions want to continue to play a key role in innovation and entrepreneurship, they must transform for the better.Craig Kuziemsky, Associate Vice-President, Research, MacEwan UniversityLeanne Hedberg, Canada Research Chair (nominee), Director Social Innovation Institute, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, MacEwan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1885462022-08-10T17:30:42Z2022-08-10T17:30:42ZWhy are there fewer young women in entrepreneurship than young men?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478526/original/file-20220810-16-fipb6a.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=17%2C0%2C1920%2C1279&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">More than money or social prestige, it is the desire for freedom and independence that drives female students into entrepreneurship. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/fr/photos/femme-bureau-son-post-remarques-5678995/">magnetme/Pixabay</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2021, around <a href="https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/6041208">41% of businesses created</a> in France were created by women and only <a href="https://home.kpmg/fr/fr/home/media/press-releases/2015/06/portrait-s-femmes-dirigeantes-en-france.html">14% of women were business owners</a>. These figures are on the rise, but the progress is still rather slow.</p>
<p>And yet, young women and men now have the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship during their studies. The proportion of student companies created by female entrepreneurs is now 39% according to the business start-up scheme launched by France’s education ministry,<a href="https://www.pepite-france.fr/">Pépite France</a> in 2014. These young women are determined to succeed, and are calling on the higher education community to provide better support.</p>
<p>In order to observe and analyse entrepreneurship by women, the <a href="https://www.fnege.org/">National Foundation for Business Management Education</a> and Pépite France launched the Observatory of Gendered Perceptions of Entrepreneurship (<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6774696345333751808/https:/www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6774696345333751808/">Orelig</a>) on 8 March 2020. Its aim is to respond to two main objectives: to better understand the motivations of young women and the obstacles they face in creating or taking over an organization and to promote the implementation of actions to promote entrepreneurship among women.</p>
<p>The Observatory brings together a team of eight researchers from various backgrounds (public and Catholic universities, business schools). It is the first French initiative of its type. The issue of gender has not been systematically addressed in management science in France.</p>
<h2>The French lagging behind</h2>
<p>There are more than <a href="https://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php?category=3318">fifty highly reputable journals</a> on gender and economics in the world. They are supported by strong collectives, such as the <a href="https://www.womensbusinesscouncil.co.uk/">Women’s Business Council</a> established in the UK in 2013, which publishes an annual report on businesses owned and run by women.</p>
<p>French academic rankings show only two, including the leading journal <a href="http://www.feministeconomics.net/"><em>Feminist Economics</em></a>, which is not well regarded for its alternative approaches to orthodox economic theories. Orelig therefore offers a gender-focused perspective on entrepreneurship by young women in France. These surveys and analyses will be carried out annually, based on a particular theme or focus and expressed by the respondents.</p>
<p>An initial study was carried out in the first quarter of 2021 in 29 Student Centres - aka <em>“Pépites”</em>-, among its population of female student entrepreneurs. The analysis involved crossing quantitative and qualitative data.</p>
<p>Out of the 245 valid responses, Generation Z (young women under 26) made up the majority (78.8%). Three quarters of these student entrepreneurs had already had professional experience through internships or significant experience in non-profit organizations.</p>
<h2>An appetite for independence and freedom</h2>
<p>93.1% of the students surveyed said that they had registered with Pépite in order to set up their company, association or organization. However, commitment to an entrepreneurial project was not the only reason given by the respondents. For 27.8% of them, the purpose of the initiative is professional development. Indeed, it enables them to acquire skills that will be useful even if they do not start a business.</p>
<p>For more than 80% of the respondents, entrepreneurship allows for personal and professional fulfilment. This quest takes shape through three major dimensions: fulfilment through writing your own life story, beyond the simple act of taking part; fulfilment through creating a business that meets a need for others; fulfilment through making innovations or a contribution that can change society.</p>
<p>One woman expressed this search for fulfilment in the following way:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“What motivates me is to be able to do something that satisfies me, makes me proud and allows me to be fully independent.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is not a way to get around the difficulties encountered in the labour market. Nor are they aiming for wealth or a form of elitism. Only 20% of the students linked entrepreneurship to social prestige and for 30% of them it was a way to create their own job and earn money. In fact, these student entrepreneurs see entrepreneurship as a way to gain independence and real freedom. It is both a means and an end, as they do not envisage a return to the workforce.</p>
<p>More than half of the respondents associate entrepreneurship with working without a supervisor and the vast majority of them link it to the possibility of organizing their own time. This is their vision of work, both as a commitment in terms of value but also as self-fulfilment through creation and their own creativity. One entrepreneur listed the facets of her entrepreneurial vision:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Creating my own company means meeting a need, creating delight, choosing my profession, putting my skills at the service of the environment, being independent, being happy to get up in the morning, choosing my hours, choosing my partners, working in harmony with my vision, my ethics and my desires.”</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A world “full of sharks”</h2>
<p>However, when they talk about the entrepreneurial journey, young women report the difficulties that lie ahead with a refreshing sense of lucidity. They list the problems of legitimacy, fundraising and credibility specific to their gender. For 57.1% of the respondents, most institutional contacts (financial sponsors, banks, suppliers, partners) are suspicious when a woman presents a business creation project. One woman explained:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I would like one day for society to be able to consciously and unconsciously consider women as credible as men… Unfortunately, this is still far from the truth.”</p>
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<p>A strong awareness of these obstacles does not stop them, however. They are determined to become entrepreneurs. One student entrepreneur said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“You have to believe in what you are doing and go for it! Don’t worry about others, life is full of sharks, it won’t do us any favours, so it’s up to us to turn things around and work for our future.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To ensure the success of their project, they seek out training, mentors and advice and, like their elders, want to reassure themselves of their capacity to become entrepreneurs. One respondent summarized her perception of the situation as follows:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Whether you are a man or a woman, even if some doors are closed, you just need to surround yourself with good, caring people and everything will be fine; each person will learn the necessary skills when the time comes or can rely on a team.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Based on these initial results, Orelig has suggested areas for reflection and action to promote entrepreneurship among young women in France. The aim is to analyse gender and generational effects on the perception of entrepreneurship and also to better understand the role of “Pépites” in supporting and defining the perception of entrepreneurship by student entrepreneurs.</p>
<p>The longevity of the Observatory and the dialogue it will have with other research in France are two of the concerns of its members. Other initiatives have been launched over the last 20 years and it is clear that it is not easy to maintain them over the long term, given the many challenges involved.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188546/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>A new French research collective, Orelig, set out to answer the question.Julie Tixier, Maîtresse de Conférences en sciences de gestion, Université Gustave EiffelKatia Richomme-Huet, Docteur, HDR en Sciences de Gestion Professeur en management et entrepreneuriat, Kedge Business SchoolMathieu Dunes, Maître de Conférences en Sciences de Gestion, Université de Picardie Jules Verne (UPJV)Najoua Boufaden, Professeure associée en entrepreneuriat et innovation, ISG International Business SchoolNathalie Lameta, Maitre de Conférences, IAE CorsePaola Duperray, Maître de conférences en sciences de gestion, Université catholique de l’Ouest Renaud Redien-Collot, Enseignant-chercheur en stratégie, ISC Paris Business SchoolTyphaine Lebègue, Maître de Conférence, IAE - Université de Tours, Laboratoire Vallorem (EA 6296)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1856042022-07-08T00:56:27Z2022-07-08T00:56:27ZSome uni students want to be more than employees, but we’re neglecting these would-be entrepreneurs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/472225/original/file-20220704-36074-tb2wvl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C8107%2C5380&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s higher education system is, more or less, focused on training people who will work for others’ companies. This “employee mindset” leads students to have a vision of being recruited as an employee in a good company after they graduate. It can stop students from thinking outside the box and so becomes an obstacle to entrepreneurial innovation.</p>
<p>The GUESSS Project (Global University Entrepreneurial Spirit Students’ Survey) reports on entrepreneurial aspirations and students’ underlying drivers of this career choice in more than 50 countries. The <a href="https://www.guesssurvey.org/resources/PDF_InterReports/GUESSS_Global_2018.pdf">2018 GUESSS Global Report</a> found only 9% of all students intended to become an entrepreneur right after they completed their studies. This figure had increased to 17.8% of students by the time of the <a href="https://www.guesssurvey.org/resources/PDF_InterReports/GUESSS_2021_Global_Report.pdf">2021 GUESSS Global Report</a>.</p>
<p>In Australia, the share of direct intentional founders (students who intend to be entrepreneurs right after their studies) increased from 9.1% in 2018 to 16.1% in 2021.</p>
<p>This significant shift in just three years calls for higher education institutions to respond to students’ entrepreneurial intentions. It points to a need to offer curriculum that helps develop their entrepreneurial skills.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/albanese-promises-support-for-young-entrepreneurs-to-develop-startups-160822">Albanese promises support for young entrepreneurs to develop startups</a>
</strong>
</em>
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<h2>How can universities foster entrepreneurs?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1472811722000490?fr=RR-2&ref=pdf_download&rr=71b027c088355aac">Recent research</a> has shown entrepreneurship education can boost students’ creativity and entrepreneurial capability, thus supporting their entrepreneurial aspirations. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1472811720304171">Another study</a> found “a statistically significant relationship between management students’ entrepreneurship education, attitude towards entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention”. The researchers urged universities to provide training modules for students with an interest in being entrepreneurs.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1420915056326287361"}"></div></p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.guesssurvey.org/resources/PDF_InterReports/GUESSS_Global_2018.pdf">2018 GUESSS report</a>, universities can play a significant role when it comes to entrepreneurship. The <a href="https://www.guesssurvey.org/resources/PDF_InterReports/GUESSS_2021_Global_Report.pdf">2021 GUESSS report</a> sheds more light on this with the finding:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Entrepreneurship education and the entrepreneurial climate at the university are key determinants of entrepreneurial intentions and activities.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The report also notes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The ventures run by the students are mostly very young and very small. Still, the entrepreneurs are rather happy with their performance.”</p>
</blockquote>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-student-to-start-up-how-a-phd-can-boost-budding-businesses-48983">From student to start-up – how a PhD can boost budding businesses</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Adding entrepreneurial skills to the curriculum</h2>
<p>In response to this gap in the curriculum, we developed an initiative in the postgraduate project management course at Victoria University. Working with Michael Jackson, a previous graduate who became an entrepreneur and established two project management firms before retirement, we created a project that required students to work in groups to develop a proposal for a project management start-up. The group approach was consistent with the findings of the <a href="https://www.guesssurvey.org/resources/PDF_InterReports/GUESSS_2021_Global_Report.pdf">2021 GUESSS report</a>, which said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Founding teams are of crucial relevance for both nascent and active founders. Only around one-third of all firms have been created without a co-founder.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This initiative challenged students and took their skills to a whole new level. Their feedback was very positive. One student said:</p>
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<p>“I found [this initiative] to be exceedingly realistic with a practical approach in trying to start a new business. The professors provided an eye-opening glimpse into the realities of the work life and the opportunities that it offers.”</p>
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<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1497702355432656896"}"></div></p>
<p>Another student said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Applying the theory with a real-world example was great. It also helps for those with aspirations of starting a PM [project management firm] in the future.”</p>
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<p>Another team member noted:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“This assignment helped me to understand what factors to consider and analyse before starting a business and how to apply the project management principles in real life.”</p>
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<p>I did a follow-up with members of the group with highest project performance, which produced further insights. The group leader said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I’ve always wanted to start my own business […] There are several variables involved in launching a firm and the assignment helped us understand and close any gaps.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Among the challenges the group had faced during the project were disagreements on some tasks, and the need for constant communication among team members. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-push-for-researcher-entrepreneurs-could-be-a-step-backward-for-gender-equity-176536">The push for 'researcher entrepreneurs' could be a step backward for gender equity</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What are the key success factors?</h2>
<p>Various factors contributed to the success of the top performer group. Effective communication and team spirit were among the most important. Although the top-performing team had members from different backgrounds, they seemed to have created a common language by having regular meetings.</p>
<p>Another important factor is “problem-solving” ability. No group effort can be undertaken without any problems. Encountering problems in a group project is not bad in itself, but being unable to solve such problems is a major weakness.</p>
<p>Having a capable team leader is another success factor. One member of the top-performing group appreciated having a team leader who paid attention to details and was very patient with everyone. The student said the group leader made an extra effort to explain the work required to team members who had difficulty understanding the project requirements.</p>
<p>Ability to think outside the box is another success factor. The students had to put aside many of their preconceptions and apply themselves to problems as they arose. One student said this project made them think outside the box while making sure their plan was realistic and practical.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185604/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amir Ghapanchi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The proportion of Australian university students who want to found a business after they graduate is increasing fast and is now around 16%. But most of their courses perpetuate an ‘employee mindset’.Amir Ghapanchi, Senior Lecturer and Course Chair, Master of Project Management, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1843712022-06-27T15:35:48Z2022-06-27T15:35:48ZMarket research is essential for entrepreneurs who want their businesses to succeed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/467208/original/file-20220606-14-lklz5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C4%2C991%2C661&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Secondary market research is the first key step in developing good marketplace intelligence.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>According to the U.S. research and consulting firm <a href="https://www.cbinsights.com/research/start-up-failure-reasons-top/">CB Insights</a>, most entrepreneurs fail because they lack sufficient financing. The second reason they fail is because the market for their product is too small.</p>
<p>Yet many entrepreneurs and coaching professionals continue to reject the market research phase in favour of a “fail fast, pivot quickly” approach. Launching companies this way — even if it means having to adapt to customer feedback later — is very trendy, especially in the world of startups.</p>
<p>However, as the bitter experience of Canadian entrepreneur Tom Zaragoza demonstrates, “learning by doing” is no guarantee that a business will gain traction in the marketplace. In 2017, after months of effort, Zaragoza launched his site Gymlisted to connect private gyms with users, only to find out that there was <a href="https://www.failory.com/interview/gymlisted">no demand for such a service</a>.</p>
<p>Through my activities as a professor in entrepreneurial marketing, I unfortunately meet an increasing number of entrepreneurs who are convinced they have the idea of the century, but who do not take time to study the market in a structured way. Market research remains an essential step for entrepreneurs for the simple reason that if the owner is not a market expert, who is?</p>
<h2>Two misconceptions about market research</h2>
<p>Contrary to the story about the intuitive and visionary entrepreneur, and in a context where modern society applauds action over reflection, it turns out that market research is both essential and relevant — as long as two misconceptions that work against its adoption are removed.</p>
<p><strong>First misconception:</strong> Market research is a linear and rational process that is not compatible with a company’s launch phase.</p>
<p>In reality, it is a set of methods and tools, the goal of which is to create a continuous learning loop by alternating phases of reflection with phases of experimentation. Whatever the size of the company, the approach is much more iterative (achieved through repetition), inductive and diversified than one might think.</p>
<p>As demonstrated by the “<a href="https://www.d-eship.com/en/who-is-bill-aulet">disciplined approach</a>” proposed by Bill Aulet, a professor at MIT, it is actually possible to study a market in a way that is structured and agile. The 24-step process starts with the study of the market fundamentals, an essential first step to understand the market structure and, above all, the different customer segments. Once the target customer is identified, the process unfolds by moving back and forth frequently between research and field studies.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448631/original/file-20220225-32360-1b0i8eo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="pictorial representation of the 24 steps of a disciplined approach" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448631/original/file-20220225-32360-1b0i8eo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448631/original/file-20220225-32360-1b0i8eo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448631/original/file-20220225-32360-1b0i8eo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448631/original/file-20220225-32360-1b0i8eo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=587&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448631/original/file-20220225-32360-1b0i8eo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448631/original/file-20220225-32360-1b0i8eo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448631/original/file-20220225-32360-1b0i8eo.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=737&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A disciplined, 24-step approach for structured and agile market research.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.d-eship.com/">('Disciplined Entrepreneurship,' by Bill Aulet)</a>, <span class="license">Fourni par l'auteur</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Second misconception:</strong> Market research is simply about having large samples answer questionnaires.</p>
<p>The truth is, <a href="https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/marketing-sales-export/marketing/creating-questionnaire">surveys</a> are not a substitute for market research. Contrary to what some business sites advise, a good survey involves using complex methods that require specialized knowledge. The use of free online solutions, such as Google Forms, by inexperienced entrepreneurs often produces biased results that may not be very useful.</p>
<p>In view of these two misconceptions, it would be more appropriate to use the term “market intelligence,” which better translates the two key steps of a pragmatic and agile process adapted to the context of creation.</p>
<h2>The two key steps to develop good market intelligence</h2>
<p><strong>Step 1: Do secondary market research to know your market</strong></p>
<p><a href="https://www.cleverism.com/how-to-perform-insightful-secondary-market-research/">Secondary market research</a> involves exploiting all existing knowledge.</p>
<p>A quick and efficient way to do this is to contact organizations such as <a href="https://www.moremontreal.com/eetp/associationsp.html">professional associations</a>, sector committees or even chambers of commerce. These institutions have the mission of collecting, synthesizing and making accessible relevant and credible information on a given sector or market, often at a very reasonable cost.</p>
<p>This approach allows entrepreneurs to quickly acquire the knowledge they need to start structuring the first hypotheses of their <a href="https://www.desjardins.com/ca/co-opme/business/tip-sheets/market-research-key-step/index.jsp">business model</a>: What are the different customer profiles? What are their expectations and buying habits? What are the competing offers already on the market?</p>
<p><strong>Step 2: Conduct qualitative studies to validate and adjust your business model</strong>.</p>
<p>The next step involves testing and exploring the marketplace on the ground by using <a href="https://www.questionpro.com/blog/qualitative-market-research/">qualitative methods</a>. This type of study takes the form of individual or group interviews, or even simple observations, and makes it possible to deepen the hypotheses put forward following the research phase by directly interviewing those in the field.</p>
<p>Take the example of <a href="https://www.hotel-uniq.com/en">the UNIQ Hotel</a>, an “ephemeral” accommodation launched in 2020.</p>
<p>Initially, studying the reports of the <a href="https://veilletourisme.ca/?lang=en">Tourism Intelligence Network</a> of the Transat Chair of Tourism at the Université du Québec à Montreal and those of <a href="https://www.campingquebec.com/en">Camping Québec</a> showed that this product might interest those who liked “glamping” and wanted both nature and comfort. Indeed, UNIQ offers yurts that can be set up and dismantled in different locations.</p>
<p>During the second phase, it makes sense to do individual or group interviews to understand the customer, their habits, their expectations and any possible obstacles.</p>
<p>This exploration phase makes it possible to understand which services are essential and which booking methods are commonly used.</p>
<p>This type of qualitative research would be an important step in completing the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgI_aqjH3FQ">value proposition design</a>, a tool that helps illustrate why the idea will meet the market’s expectations. The information also makes it possible to draw up a precise profile of the expected clientele using a “<a href="https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/what-is-a-buyer-persona-and-why-is-it-important/507404/">buyer persona</a>,” a method for summarizing the main characteristics of future buyers.</p>
<p>Once this exploration phase is complete, one can wrap up with a test to ensure that there is demand for this type of accommodation. This can be done by applying <a href="https://mixwithmarketing.com/2021/09/what-is-concept-testing-with-definition-examples/">concept testing</a>. This simple and inexpensive process consists of submitting a printed or video description of the proposal to the target clientele to study their reactions and their level of intention to make a purchase.</p>
<p>These few good practices do not cover everything, and not all market research methods are applied to every creative context. But as many scientific studies have shown, knowing your market is a key factor of success for any company.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/184371/count.gif" alt="La Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Philippe Massiera ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>The market research stage is often criticized as useless and inappropriate, but it’s essential to success in business.Philippe Massiera, Professeur agrégé en Marketing Management, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.