Technopreneurship (Prelim Topic)

Technopreneurship

Before I elaborate about Technopreneurship, I will discuss first what Entrepreneurship is.

According to our instructor, Entrepreneurship involves having the guts to do what you believe is right, thinking out of the box and making business out of it.  In my opinion, people who will enter in the world of business will have to consider market needs in a certain environment and being effective is to think a unique strategy and product not the common business strategies and product in a certain area, these people are called Entreprenuers . According to French economist, Richard Cantillon, they invests, transforms and makes (profit or loss). They are also whole-brained, meaning he/she uses both the left brain (logical) and right brain (creative). It came from the French word, ‘entreprendre’ which means individuals who undertake (the risk of new ventures).

Moving further when talking about Technopreneurship, for some people, it is not a product but a process of synthesis in engineering the future of a person, an organization, a nation and the world but according to our lessons, Technopreneurship is entrepreneurship in the field of technology. This means that the people that are in technopreneurship use existing technologies or invent and develop a new product. Examples of these are High tech ventures in ICT, electronics, internet, life sciences and biotech. This are innovations that are not confined to tangible products but also include services and processes like that of banks, airlines, shipping lines, telecommunications, hospitals, agencies and other establishments. 

Talking about the definitions about Technopreneurs, “describing an entrepreneur who uses cutting- edge technology to develop new business models (Mankani, D.)”. In my own interpretation, this means that, having ideal ways of using technology in making business models more effective.

Technopreneurship has great importance. In our class discussion, our instructor tackled that these are Employment Creation, Local Resources, Decentralization and diversification of business, Promotion of technology, Capital formation, Promotion of an entrepreneurial culture. 

When we talk about Employment Creation, Entrepreneurs create employment for themselves and other people. They are employers, and hence assist in solving the unemployment problem in the country. For me, when someone starts a new venture, there are opportunities that are opened not just for the entrepreneur but also to other people who looks for a job. 

Another importance of Technopreneurship is Local Resources which when used by entrepreneurs causes increase in value of this resources. I see an example of these local resources, just like that of raw materials or ingredients in a certain product. 

Another is Decentralization and diversification of business is defined in its importance as Entrepreneurs are able to identify business opportunities and locate these businesses in suitable areas, including rural areas. Thus, in my own opinion, if entrepreneurs or technopreneurs will locate a certain business with a right product in a suitable area, then, the business can really help in meeting the needs of the residents there. 

Then, about Promotion of technology, in my own point of view, when one entrepreneur or technopreneur is being creative then using of technology is being utilized and because of the growing needs of the business, technology needs to be developed leading to new inventions and innovations. 

Going further, talking about Capital formation, its importance is Entrepreneurship increases capital formation and investment. Thus, for me, when one increases income and can gain for a new investment, then, the business will grow and grow and will benefit the owner and its workers in a business. 

And the last importance that was being discussed to us is Promotion of an entrepreneurial culture, in my own understanding it is making young people motivated by showing other successful entrepreneur or technopreneur its achievements. According from our class discussion, it is by projecting successful images.

It is best if one can be a pioneer in the field of technology, but how? In our class discussion, it must be that the mindset of a person should always be looking out for innovation. For me, this is true because if one thinks for innovation, then he or she can plan a unique business that is new in an area and can be useful. It is said also that a technopreneur needs to think “out of the box”. The box is the logic of an industry, business or product. The explanation about this is that, Logic answers why people are buying that product, why is the entrepreneur using that kind of raw material, etc. Thus, an entrepreneur has to look at the box and find something that is different. He or she doesn’t just copy what is currently available in the industry/business.

There are many significant reasons why one must become a technopreneur, and some of the examples during our discussion are: (1) Thousands of new ventures have been set up every year around the world and venture capitalists have invested billions of dollars into these business; (2) The internet is still in its infancy; (3) Many technopreneurs are hoping that their product, service or solution will become the industry standard in their chosen field in the same manner as we have Internet Explorer for web browsing, Amazon for online book and eBay for Internet auctions; (4) High risk for technopreneur investment but their rewards are great such as founders of Microsoft, Amazon and eBay and their backers. For me, this is so true because everyone can be a technopreneur, it is only in the start of the business venture where you may experience risks but if one is persistent and will keep on trying, then they would enjoy the benefits of their hardships.

In our class, it was also discussed by our instructor that a technopreneur usually generate new business ideas, one is able to identify the business or consumer need, one is not limited to a certain idea but expand the idea, he or she identify market needs and offering the solution, he or she ensure the technology to make the idea work exists or can be developed at a reasonable cost and within a reasonable time, he or she thinks of workable idea, then bounces it to friends or associates. After receiving feedback, and deciding, he or she starts the business plan. Finally, he or she tries to get financing.

Under our lesson about technopreneurship is about the SEED Model. The SEED stands for Self-Mastery, Environment Mastery, Enterprise Mastery, and Development of Business Plan. Self-mastery is a passion that comes from knowing yourself meaning you know what you want and do not want. It was also taught to us that a self-mastered person does not need high Intelligent Quotient (IQ) but if it is high, this will be beneficial to him or her, does need high Emotional Quotient (EQ) which means that it is ability for an entrepreneur/technopreneur to connect to other people and be able to feel others’ emotions easily, does need high Adversity Quotient (AQ) which is the is the ability to rise up after a failure and to go against the norm. Moving further, talking about Environment Mastery, it is about generating business ideas and seeking opportunities out from his or her environment through serendipity walks, crisis, trends and others. Examples of environment-mastered person is someone who understands the industry he/she is in, sees the opportunities, not the problems, is on top of the situation instead of being under the situation, is the organization/industry innovator and strategist. Another is about Enterprise Mastery which is about how to run a business. This also pertains to the knowledge of the different enterprise disciplines such as: Creating the Business, Marketing Management (creating a promise), Operations Management (keeping the promise and how to make the perception a reality), Financial Management (putting only a small margin on your product), and Risk Management (ability to take measured or calculated risks). Examples of enterprise-mastered person is someone who understands and integrates the functions of management (marketing, human resource, operations, and finance), understands and integrates the process of management (planning, organizing, directing, and controlling), and leads and inspires rather than manage.

In our class, we also tackled about Development of Business Plan and this covers writing the business plan, presenting and defending the business plan, adding refinements to the presented business plan. We also tackled the four types of entrepreneurship and these are incremental (Routine business, modest innovation, i.e. new coffee shop, new BPO), imitative (Imitation of venture, same business model and template, i.e. new regional branch, franchised operations), rent-seeking (Business that utilizes standards, regulations and laws to share in value of enterprise, i.e. Coca Cola Export), and innovative (Business based on innovation, i.e. new memory chip). We also learned about the Characteristics of a technopreneur and these are: hard working, self-confident, builds for the future, profit-oriented, goal-oriented, persistent, copes with failure, responds to feedback, demonstrates initiative, willing to listen, sets own standards, copes with uncertainty, committed, builds on strengths, reliable and has integrity, and risk-taker.

The bottom line is a Technopreneur are technology idea owner who ventures to make his idea a commercial reality and it is also an entrepreneur who gets a technology idea, finds an opportunity to make it a commercial reality.