Alternative Entrepreneurship

Intrapreneurship
Intrapreneurship is one of the least talked about (and probably least known) outlets for that entrepreneurial spirit. Simply put, intrapreneurship is entrepreneurship within a company.

What’s it good for??
High Resources
No entry level entrepreneur has as many resources as an established company. When an intrapreneur strikes something good, she has access to much more infrastructure, capital, and human resources than she would on her own. This means more success? Yes, yes it does.

Low Risk
Even for a successful entrepreneur, one of the most daunting issues is stability. The intrapreneur trades some of their responsibility for lower risk. They’re not using their own money and frequently they’re even getting a salary. Not so bad as far as the whole “putting food on the table” thing goes.


What it ain’t so good for
Creativity
Ideal intrapreneurship will not dampen, but promote creativity (more resources = more options). But, the resources have to make sense with the idea (the resources of a promotion company are not as helpful to someone trying to start a Direct-to-Fan app). Intrapreneurship only makes sense if the goals of the intrapreneur and the resources of the company align. Otherwise it stifles creativity!

Success Feeling
When an entrepreneur is successful they get to keep all of their money, spend it how they please, and never have to hear from a boss. A beautiful life! When you’re working for a company, it’s easy for an intrapreneur to not feel as satisfied because they’re not the center of public attention, the company is.


Why Now?
Ian Rogers and others are predicting we’ll get our information from a few “trusted brands.” The internet-exploding-anyone-can-do-anything world is consolidating into fewer, bigger companies again.

These powerhouse companies continue to grow while young companies are being bought or forced out of business earlier and earlier. Why not join one of these companies with momentum? It sounds like an evil thing, but they have resources and a reputation hard to match on your own. For many innovators, intrapreneurship is the best way to keep doing what they love. Let’s add some stability to our innovation.


What this All Means
I am not arguing that intrapreneurship is better than entrepreneurship. Heck, intrapreneurship wouldn’t have allowed Steve Jobs to create with the freedom that he did. But there are only a handful of people like Steve and we want more creators. I mean, I want to see what all those creators can come up with. Make my life easier already!

Jacob Rosati is 22 and spends time making music, managing music, and losing his glasses while stomping. Also Described As: Amateur Chemex Enthusiast, Shrimp Tank Owner, and “That Guy with Super Dry Humor.”

Comments

[Ben Hebert]

Entrepreneurs can go lean and iterate faster than a regular business or company. It's important to get experience in a larger environment and develop a network, but if you really want to accomplish something or achieve your own vision you need to be on your own.

[Andrew Wiebe]

Thanks for this article Jacob!

This concept is little bit like Google's 20 percent time. If a company is flexible like that (many of them are allowing employees to work from home one to three days a week), there are definitely possibilities for intrapreneurship

[Drew]

I'm lucky enough to be an intrapreneurial musician and everything works beautifully. We are all on the same page and have all the same goals, so I get free reign. There is no stifled creativity whatsoever, and I could care less about being the center of attention. My bosses are my friends and mentors who are extremely passionate about the arts. I get paid to play my guitar all week and play in a great band 50 weekends/year. It's way too much fun!

I would caution anyone reading this article to check your motives when considering an intrapreneurship. If you are interested in simply using someone else's resources just to further your own career without any consideration of the company you work for, that's just selfish and it won't work. I've seen this happen and it gets quite ugly. Relationships suffer, reputations are destroyed, and there can even be serious legal repercussions.

Nice post, Jacob.

[Snoopy]

A great base of advices for all entrepreneurs:

http://think-entrepreneurial.blogspot.com/