Reading Reflection: Week 2

     To start off, I was surprised to learn in this weeks reading that entrepreneurial endeavors are actually a whole lot more successful on average than we tend to believe. I too held to the notion that the majority of start-ups are doomed to failure, but according to the text most new businesses actually have a success rate of a little over 50%. Sure, its still very risky when our consider the alternative of  a regular salary paying job, but considering the possible rewards and the actually not-so-dismal chances, going out on our own now seems to me a fairly appealing prospect.

     On that note though, I was a little confused by the characterization of the individual entrepreneur in this text. The author constantly refers to them as "risk-takers", while at the same time discussing how overly emphasized this aspect of entrepreneurship is, that in reality entrepreneurs do whatever they can to mitigate risks. While not perhaps strictly contradictory, I felt as though I was reading a mixed message.

     Two questions I would ask:

• Wouldn't the Venture Opportunity school of thought simply fall under the "unique people"category in the Strategic Formulation school?

• When did the term "entrepreneurship" originate? We know that it is derived from the French meaning"to undertake", but when did it actually become a stand-alone term?

     Something I disagree with the author on is the notion that entrepreneurship is an acquired skill. In other words, I disagree with with his disagreement on "entrepreneurs are born, not made". I believe there is an element to entrepreneurship that is simply innate, that only people with a certain personality possess. Practice can improve anyone's skill in basically anything, but I also believe that some people are simply born to do certain things (i.e. they are talented). I have friends that will always be better than me at certain things, regardless of the time time spent practiced, and vice versa. I believe this applies to all things actually. There is both learned and innate ability.