Entrepreneurship is a buzzword that increasingly is used by anyone wishing to connote innovation, newness and success. According to Merriam-Webster, an entrepreneur is “a person who starts a business and is willing to risk loss in order to make money.”
While the assumption of risk might be central to entrepreneurship, the definition in practice has grown to encompass more than money-making.
The term has even become its own multi-disciplinary field.
The entrepreneurship minor in the College of Arts and Sciences teaches that entrepreneurship is about making change in creative and efficient ways.
Buck Goldstein, one of the early builders of the program, co-wrote a book called “Engines of Innovation” that suggests, as Goldstein said in an interview with The Daily Tar Heel, “The University can have a greater impact on the world’s biggest problems if it incorporates an entrepreneurial mindset into its culture.”
The authors refer to a definition of entrepreneurship that has nothing to do with private capital or commercialization.
Broadening this definition is, in many ways, a good thing — students can get access to tools to make everything from non-profits to free apps a reality. Highly efficient problem solving can take many forms.
Is there a risk of overapplication? UNC must have a common language.
Words are important — without knowing exactly what they mean, we risk taking away their power.
