5 Different Types of Entrepreneurs — Which Type Suits Your Personality?
Entrepreneurship can take many different forms, because being an entrepreneur offers many different options. If creative problem solving and business ownership sound appealing to you, consider one of these different types of entrepreneurship:
Venture-Backed Founder
Personality: Growth mindset or have goals for total market domination, not afraid to be a contrarian, thrilled by the large potential for success
Attributes: A venture-backed founder is the type of business owner you see on Shark Tank; the type that you think of when you hear of Silicon Valley tech startups. These founders created a prototype or minimal version of their product/service to show potential in the business’ future growth. Then, they pitch their business to potential investors who fund the growth of the company in exchange for an ownership stake in the company.
In order to pay their investors back, these founders want to grow their business as quickly as possible in order to sell their business for a large amount of money or go public in the future.
Bootstrapped Founder/Small Business Owner
Personality: Want a hyperlocal business, want a family business, often looking to open a service-related business
Attributes: Not all businesses require venture capital. A bootstrapped founder funds the growth of their business without outside investment — which means they get to own 100% of their company. This gives the founder a little more flexibility to make decisions without the input of an outside investor.
Some ways to bootstrap a business include immediately generating revenue so the money can go back into the business, asking friends/family for funding, securing a low-interest bank loan, or using a crowdfunding platform.
Intrapreneur
Personality: Enjoy the stability of a salary/current career, creative, itching for new ways to grow within the company, strong at project management
Attributes: An intrapreneur is an entrepreneur within their current job. These entrepreneurs are creative, goal-driven people who work within their organization to foster innovative ideas and take on new projects. For employees motivated by taking on new challenges, intrapreneurship combines the ingenuity of traditional entrepreneurship with the resources of a well-established company. It can result in new products, new processes, or even new policies within the company.
Not only should intrapreneurs be willing to take the lead on a new project, they will have to be a collaborator with the skills to drive the company toward these new initiatives.
Franchisee
Personality: Looking for proven processes, strong people management skills, lives in a relatively populated area
Attributes: Global and national chain businesses often get a poor reputation of not supporting the community. In reality, many owners of franchise locations are small business owners of a single location, with hopes to grow the franchise over time. The benefit of being a franchisee is that you can follow a set business plan and proven processes that are meant to work if implemented correctly. But they will need to figure out other challenges on their own, such as local marketing and funding.
For entrepreneurs looking to get into business ownerships, owning a franchise location can be a good step into entrepreneurship, providing hands-on experience into managing a business.
Content Creator/Influencer
Personality: Creative, social butterfly, tech-savvy, likes staying on ahead of trends
Attributes: Social media and the Internet have created a new type of entrepreneur in the last decade — the content creator or influencer. These entrepreneurs have built a business by building out their personal brand. They’re often experts on a particular subject and have built a following from creating compelling content — YouTube videos, online fitness programs, fashion recommendations, parenting tips, you name it. These entrepreneurs work to build partnerships with brands and other influencers to gain paid endorsements or advertising revenue from their channels.
It might seem easy or glamorous to be an influencer, but remember that these entrepreneurs, just like other business owners, must be meticulous about their business model, marketing strategy, and customer service.
As you can see, there’s a lot of options to own your own business. What type of entrepreneurship suits your personality?
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