By John Hagel III
IN the public mind, entrepreneurs have been reduced to young people who want to create world-changing businesses that can quickly reach $1 billion or more in market value—the fabled “unicorns.”
But is that all there is? A more useful definition of entrepreneur might be someone who sees an opportunity to create value and is willing to take the risk necessary to capitalize on that opportunity.
In a world increasingly shaped by technology, new opportunities present themselves ever more rapidly. But risk also rises because of accelerating change and uncertainty. What we need are entrepreneurs who can cope with those risks and harness the opportunities on the other side.
While some of these opportunities may evolve into unicorns, we shouldn’t unduly focus on them. Today many product businesses are fragmenting as the means of production become more broadly affordable, and as platform businesses emerge to help connect these product businesses with customers around the world. We’re already seeing this dynamic play out in digital realms such as music, video and application software. New technologies, such as 3D printing and biosynthesis, will likely extend the trend.
For entrepreneurs, this is an opportunity to develop products targeted to the needs of small groups of customers. Fragmentation suggests that unicorns will become rarer in many product businesses, and may even become extinct. But the entrepreneurs attracted to these niche businesses will nonetheless create value for customers and for themselves. Why shouldn’t we encourage them?
And let’s not just talk about entrepreneurs in rich countries. A key to accelerating the growth of developing economies will be the ability to encourage more entrepreneurs, both in urban and rural areas. While they may not become unicorn entrepreneurs, they can create value in their neighborhoods and perhaps beyond.
John Hagel III is founder and chairman of the Deloitte Center for the Edge, a research center based in Silicon Valley.