global report shows entrepreneurial ambition. vision knows no boundaries.
by rick telberg
at large
the global entrepreneurship monitor has just issued its seventh annual survey of entrepreneurship in 35 countries. the report looks at some of the characteristics of entrepreneurs and what seems to be contributing to their success. blended together and averaged out, the characteristics give us a composite portrait of a certain type of person who’s found all over the world.
one purpose of the report was to compare entrepreneurialism in high-income countries (with norway at the top of the gdp per capita list and greece at the bottom) and middle-income countries (with slovenia at the top and china at the bottom). enterprises in low-income countries did not participate in the study.
the report found that middle-income countries tend to start more businesses than high-income countries. entrepreneurs are six times more likely to pop up in venezuela than they are in belgium, and in thailand, bootstrap business people outpace their peers in japan by a factor of 10.but then something interesting occurs. in some countries, the high rate of new companies parallels a high rate of established companies, indicating a higher survival rate. thailand, china and new zealand are the best examples of places where new enterprises are likely to become established companies.
in other countries, a low rate of new companies somehow leads to a high rate of established companies. japan, greece and slovenia are good examples.
the united states ranks in the top quarter in new companies, but only in the lower third in established companies. sweden ranks in the lower quarter of new companies, but leaps above the median in established companies.
mexico, south africa and chile drop. belgium, netherlands and italy rise. hungary just sits there on the bottom: low rates of new and established companies.
the report did not identify what makes entrepreneurs succeed in one company but fail in another, but it suggested that access to credit, independent revenue for owners, the economic environment and the general business environment were contributing factors.
economic environment may have contributed to the higher success rate of “opportunity-driven” entrepreneurs over those driven by necessity. it suggested that countries with healthy and diversified labor markets, or stronger safety nets, allow entrepreneurs to be more selective about the businesses they start.
that makes sense. with more options and less desperation, they are more likely to choose a new enterprise with a greater likelihood of success. among the nations surveyed, denmark led in opportunity-driven enterprises. the united states ranked eighth.
the report also found sheer confidence to be a significant characteristic of entrepreneurs in all countries. compared with non-entrepreneurial business people, they ranked higher on a scale of confidence and lower on a scale of fear of failure. they were also more alert to opportunities ? and perhaps most importantly they knew more entrepreneurs.
it’s no surprise, then, to see what the composite portrait of the successful entrepreneur from earth looks like. it’s a male who’s young enough to be confident of success, educated enough to have skills worth confidence, backed by enough money to get the job done, living in a thriving economic environment, and enjoying the comfort of a socio-economic safety net.
but mind you: that’s an average. there are entrepreneurs who are short on education but long on ability. there are retirees with inventions mothered by necessity. and everywhere, in every country, from the palaces of manhattan to the garages of butte, there are people set apart, different, driven by a certain something, heaving at their bootstraps and tinkering with an irresistible idea.
[first published by the aicpa]