Turning opportunities into gold

By ADAM JONES

Innovation and entrepreneurship go hand-in-hand but they are different. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (Gem) defines innovation as "something new which has the potential of changing relationships".

The principal author of the New Zealand Gem report, Dr Dr Howard Frederick, says this can include, "a new service or product that could change an economic ('buy me!'), social ('opt for me!'), political ('vote for me!'), or even cultural ('listen or look at me!') relationship".

As innovation uncommercialised or unexploited is innovation wasted, the Gem report defines entrepreneurship as "the commercialisation of innovation".

Dictionary.com calls an entrepreneur "someone who organises a business venture and assumes the risk for it".

But this does not take into account a "necessity" entrepreneur.

The Gem report's definition is somewhat different:

"An entrepreneur is a person attempting to create a new business enterprise either through spotting a new opportunity or out of necessity, job loss or redundancy."

The former type of person is described as an opportunity entrepreneur and the latter as a necessity entrepreneur.

GEM Special Report