Time to open the gates on entrepreneurial identity
I know, I know: That headline violates my own gripe about bastardizing the word “entrepreneur,” but maybe it makes the point that the word itself has got to go. No one really loves the term to start with, outside of the publishing company that owns the “Entrepreneur” trademark and occasionally sues those who cross some invisible barrier to trespass on its intellectual property.
I say, let’s avoid that particular property, but right next door let’s build a public park so open and welcoming and useful that no one would see any point in straying beyond the gates of Entrepreneurland.
Tim Berry, one of my all-time favorite business bloggers, says he’s ready to “make a movement” out of this. If he’s onboard, I think we’re off to a great start. The only problem is, before we can have a movement, we have to decide exactly where we want to go. There’s bound to be some debate on this, but here is what I would hope to accomplish:
First, if we’re going to choose a term to replace “entrepreneur,” it probably needs to be a real word — something already in the dictionary and firmly in the public domain so that it can’t be fenced off by linguistic squatters in search of a quick buck.
Next, as long as we’re replacing a long, awkward term, it follows that the new word should be easy to spell and relatively short, befitting the limitations of Twitter and the frustrations of a virtual keyboard.
Finally, I would argue for a term that’s as broad and inclusive as possible. Language adoption relies on usage, and you don’t gain users by excluding people. The best term is one that encompasses all the different varieties of those we currently call “entrepreneurs” — founders and buyers, tinkerers and turnaround artists, profit seekers and social visionaries.
With all those criteria in mind, I wonder if “venturer” might be the term we’re looking for. According to the Random House Dictionary, “venture” is defined as:
- (n) an undertaking involving uncertainty as to the outcome, especially a risky or dangerous one
- (v) to take a risk; dare; presume
- (adj) of or pertaining to an investment or investments in new businesses
“Venturer” isn’t a made-up word; it’s listed in the dictionary, with roots that trace back to 15th century Middle English. Given that history, I can’t imagine that any court would uphold a trademark claim.
What do you think? Does “venturer” capture the essence of what we’re all about? Is it the kind of term that we can embrace and standardize as an open-source alternative to “entrepreneur”?
If you like the word “venturer,” then here are two simple steps you can take to help speed its adoption:
- In the comment section below, show your support with three little words: “I’m a venturer”
- Any time you’re tweeting about a small-business topic, use the hashtag #venturer. When it becomes a trending topic, others will start to take notice, and we’ll have an honest-to-goodness linguistic movement underway.
And if you don’t like the term “venturer”? That’s fine too, but please feel free to suggest an alternative. As long as we can come up with something — anything — that’s better than “entrepreneur,” I promise to get behind the movement.
Photo by flickr user KTDEE
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Robert, thanks for that vote of confidence, and count me in with the movement, but — please don’t retract the praise — let’s focus the movement first, for a while, on finding a really great word for it. Even if we have to invent it!
I keep thinking of Lord Shackleford and his explorers, in the Antarctic a century or so ago. He advertised for volunteers for the expedition in the newspaper. The ad included the phrase “return doubtful.” Does that lead us to a better word?
And I think we should all re-read Chris Dixon’s short piece “There are two kinds of people in the world” at http://cdixon.org/2011/04/26/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-in-the-world/ … short but eloquent. He doesn’t suggest a word, but he does suggest a frame of mind.
I do have a suggestion: “empresario.” That’s Spanish for entrepreneur, from the word “empresa,” which means “company.” It’s cooler than the French, easier to say, and easier to sell.
And, final thought, can we shift the focus away from entrepreneur.com? I like that organization. I do a column there. Entrepreneur Press published my last book on business planning. I do think we need a new word, but not because of the magazine getting defensive about its name, no more than because it’s French. Let’s stick to the good reasons you cited, that it’s hard to say and hard to spell and too presumptive.
As always, Tim, thank you for the thoughtful response. You’re one of the best resources on the Web precisely because you reveal your heart while speaking your mind.
First, I should address your point about Entrepreneur Media Inc. The folks at Entrepreneur magazine actually launched my writing career 20+ years ago by taking a chance on an unknown college kid, paying me the princely sum of $300 for an unsolicited article and giving me my first national byline. I’ll always appreciate that, and any excess snark in my tone is probably due to a lack of sleep.
I’m a big believer in property rights, and I’d certainly defend those rights if I owned the Entrepreneur trademark. Still, I do have a fundamental problem with the idea that an entire group identity is “owned” by a corporation.
Language is the basis of thought; we can’t conceive of what we are and what we do apart from the words that we use. When the very word that defines us is legally controlled by someone else, I believe we lose a degree of autonomy. If ever there were a case for open-source language, this would be it.
As to the word “empresario” — I like it! It rolls off the tongue (even if I can’t roll my R’s), and it just sounds cool. I think it definitely has a chance of catching on. I know that the term dates back to Spanish colonialism — any “imperialist” baggage? Also, what about the male/female endings in Spanish? Will the male “empresario” be an issue for anyone?
While I’m not wedded to “venturer,” by any means, I do like the fact that “venture” has such a positive connotation. We all know that a venture involves risk and planning and uncertainty, plus a certain amount of daring. Doesn’t that sum up what the entrepreneurial life is all about? We seek venture capital, venture into the unknown, and live by the maxim, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
My small business is a true venture, with no guarantees and no instruction manual. I think that makes me a venturer, in every sense of the word.
I am so glad I took that chance on that unknown college kid. But your skill as a writer made that easy for me to do.
I agree with Tim that it might be too early to actually come up with the actual word yet. But I think it’s more than fair to point out that my former employer has gone too far trying to literally own the word “entrepreneur” (boy I could tell you some stories). You shouldn’t apologize for what you wrote.
In any case I also think it’s important to realize that there are many ways to define what an entrepreneur is. I don’t think it’s necessarily the person who came up with the concept. If that were the definition we would have to eliminate the Ray Krocs of the world.
But I remain solidly behind your idea. Maybe we should hold a contest?
Thanks so much, Rieva! As Rupert Murdoch would say, I’m deeply humbled … but in a good way. Nearly everything I’ve done in the past 20 years, I can trace back to the start that you gave me with that very first freelance assignment.
Organizations are only as virtuous as the people calling the shots, so it’s a shame when a good name is sullied by some bad business decisions. Entrepreneur continues to produce lots of helpful content, but I’d hate to be on the receiving end of one of their famous lawsuits.
As for Ray Kroc — great point! I totally agree that the true vision doesn’t always lie with the founder. Changing can be just as risky as launching, so I would vote for a term that embraces risk-takers, envelope-pushers and innovators at every stage of a venture’s life.
I think a contest is a great way to open up the hunt for a new word. The more input we get, the more likely it is that the label will stick.
+1 from me, from way of Tim Berry’s blog.
As far as choosing the word goes, venturer is difficult to say properly, without sounding foolish: “vencherrueuur”… I like venturist, but if that has problems I guess it’s out…
As long as you’re looking for non-English words, and as you say French “… isn’t the first country you’d associate with the scrappy, independent spirit of startup businesses”, can I suggest one that is?
I’m sure you’re all familiar with “Startup Nation” (http://www.startupnationbook.com/)… and the Hebrew word for it is “Yazam” – literally, someone who comes up with an idea and runs with it.
Short, snappy, with some nice background….
(From the translation of the Hebrew Wikipedia page for Yazam (http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%99%D7%96%D7%9D) : “Yazam is a person who initiates, decides and organizes a commercial business or venture new or existing business to achieve certain goals” (sic) ).
Sounds about perfect….
Great comment, AviD. I think “venturer” sounds best with an aristocratic Charleston drawl … but for everyone else it may just sound like a speech impediment. Maybe drop the “urer” ending and go with something like ventura: “I’m a ventura. We are venturi.”
Maybe not.
As for Yazam, that’s truly interesting. Super short, easy to say, and a great pedigree. It’s kind of a strong word, as if it should be followed by an exclamation point — Yazam!
Seriously, I like it a lot. Would like to know what others think.
Thanks.
Hehe, with an exclamation point – like Shazam!
Yazam!
I like the ventura/venturi… dont know why, but it makes me think of Battlestar Galactica…
I would go for it, but I don’t think that would catch on as much….
I would love to join the movement! You can count on me to support anything that reduces the number of silly patent and trademark infringement lawsuits. I have been involved in a couple and they are a huge waste of everyone’s time (except the law firms!). Maybe we should just change our spelling of Entrepreneur to Ontrepranoor to ”avoid confusion”.
Excellent, Tim, good to have you on board. It takes a lot of warm bodies to make a movement!
Sorry to hear about your lawsuits. Did you prevail, at least?
As for “Ontrepranoor,” doesn’t do much to solve the space issue, does it?
PurchasingNet, Inc. was a “prior art” witness in Federal court. My partner was on the stand for four hours showing the software we had developed (and licensed) several years before the patent (for virtually the same application) was granted to another software company. The end result……the patent in question will be over-turned. Of course the lawyers for the patent holder are appealing. The beat goes on……..
I am still waiting to see an example of how software patents have helped consumers or smaller companies. They tend to help the big guys who have the resources to litigate. They certainly hurt innovation.
Ugh, sounds like you got mauled by a patent troll. You have my sympathy. Did you catch this amazing investigation on “This American Life”? Truly depressing: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/441/when-patents-attack