5 ms·
Entrepreneur is a silly word, and you sound silly when you call yourself one
- MaysonL 12y agocf: http://gapingvoid.com/2012/09/24/notdelusional/ http://gapingvoid.com/2012/09/24/notdelusional/
- jessedhillon 12y agoTo paraphrase Margaret Thatcher, being an entrepreneur is like being a lady: if you have to tell people you are one, you aren't.
- kylelibra 12y agoSame argument can be made about people calling themselves CEO of startups with no employees or product.
- neals 12y agoI have the pleasure of e-mailing with the CEO of a very small hobby-like website the other day.
- collyw 12y agoYes, I had a flatmate who had a "startup". She carried on her hobby (as I would call it) while her boyfriend earned a wage.
- sremani 12y agoDitto for the silliness of slapping engineer or hacker like marketing engineer or growth hacker.
- fciraci 12y agoIf I bootstrap something, I will call myself "Leader Maximo" or, to honor my country, "Dux". Unless CEO means "Chief Everything Officer."
- jamiesonbecker 12y agoEveryone starts somewhere. Now who's pompous. :)
- trose 12y agoOne of my previous employers went and acquired a startup that had three employees and each had a C title. One was chief Organization Officer. What exactly are you organizing?!
- forgottenpass 12y agoWhat exactly are you organizing?! Organizing a good résumé.
- thu 12y agoDamned, I will change my LinkedIn profile; I didn't know it was sounding pompous :-) For me, an "entrepreneur" (french word) is someone who undertake an "entreprise". An "entreprise" is not necessarily a company or a business. It is a kind of project. You could say that preparing a party or a wedding is an "entreprise".
- heeton 12y agoTo most of the world, and entrepreneur is defined as somebody who finds opportunities to exploit for a profit.
- moggflunkies 12y agoWith your interpretation, someone who is cataloging all of their shits for a month and posting them reddit is an entrepreneur.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- bhauer 12y agoAgreed in general. Though I can't help but think the Back to School scene is there because of the recent EconPop episode about Back to School.
- jedberg 12y agoUnrelated side note: this is the first time I've noticed one of the new TLDs on the front page of HN.
- zdw 12y agoI frequently use "Managing Consultant". It's actually descriptive.
- heeton 12y agoFor me it's always a huge red flag when somebody calls themselves an entrepreneur (or CEO of... themselves and their 1-person company). It indicates they care about the prestige and position rather than making things.
- shittyanalogy 12y agoYay pointless, judgmental semantics. Let's worry about this instead of doing the other things.
- fivedogit 12y agoAmen. We need a word to distinguish someone who founds a startup with a brand new product nobody's ever seen before and aims for high growth from the person who opened a bakery on the corner. That word happens to be "entrepreneur" and I don't have a problem with someone making that distinction in conversation if used correctly. Ironically, I have a problem with geeks using the word "silly" and "it's" when they mean "its", as OP did.
- fciraci 12y agoIt's one of those words that somehow become a status symbol and lose their meaning. Like, well, hacker: I cringe every time someone writes "hacker" in his/her bio without stuff to show for it. Usually it's UI developers, I don't know why. All around, I started to discard every word that comes with this burden. Words should convey information, not a self blowjob.
- jamiesonbecker 12y agoUI developers can certainly be hackers. There are probably plumbers who are brilliant hackers. Consider "Hackers and Painters", by pg. Superb book.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- hartator 12y ago"Entrepreneur" is a french word. "Entre" means between and "Preneur" means parts. A indirect english synonym would be middleman. Traditionally, it was referring to people in the building industry that set up building site with plumber, electrician, workers... So, a freelancer is not an entrepreneur. Strictly speaking if you don't have any employees you are not an entrepreneur.
- pdx 12y agoThat's interesting. So, it the U.S., we would call such a person a General Contractor. The person in the building industry who coordinates all the various building trades to get the building built.
- jmulho 12y agoIt is also an English word that means a person who starts businesses that mostly fail but has at least one that hasn't failed yet.
- Frozenlock 12y agoSame is true in French.
- seren 12y agoPreneur comes from "prendre" which means to take. So a more literal translation would be an undertaker, not as someone who manages burials, but undertakes something. (By the way an undertaker, would be translated as an "Entrepreneur de pompes funèbres" in French)
- moggflunkies 12y agois the era of startup culture, pseudo entrepreneurship, and the like finally coming to an end? Posts like this and Southpark regaling us at startup cultures expense...
- stevewilhelm 12y agoI cringe when hearing the term "serial entrepreneur."
- integraton 12y agoHonest question: what should someone call themselves when they've started, for example, a restaurant, two software companies, and a property management firm?
- freehunter 12y agoA business owner? If you've found success, you own a lot of businesses. If you haven't, you own one even though you have started more than you currently have. You're still just a business owner.
- integraton 12y ago"Business owner" implies they currently have sole or majority ownership in a business, but with many companies both big and small, multiple people have ownership stakes. Founders also often don't retain an ownership stake forever, since many businesses change ownership during their lifetimes, and others shut down. So, in my example above, what if the person only retains a minority ownership stake in the restaurant, sold the two software companies, the property management company failed, and they are now working on a new company of any kind? Does "business owner" really accurately describe what they do? Note that if you think this kind of example is unusual, in my experience it's relatively common for people who build companies to do so in different domains, either simultaneously or at different stages in their careers.
- crimsonalucard 12y agoI'd call them a douche bag. Seriously this isn't something you want to advertise even if it's true. Stay down to earth and play down your successes especially if the person you're talking to is less successful then you. Did Steve Jobs call himself a serial entrepreneur? True success advertises itself.
- lenniez 12y agoFunny, I had this discussion with a friend a few days ago. I see the term entrepreneur as a description of a persons character. I don't think you have to be a millionaire or even need big succes (yet). If you're starting a few companies or projects, spend all your time, money and energy in those and try to generate money in creative ways; you're an entrepreneur.
- integraton 12y agoComplaining about the word "entrepreneur" is itself a bit tacky, since for posers to annoy you that much, you must be spending too much time around them. In the US, it also seems to be a complaint exclusive to the software industry. I don't see anyone complaining about people who open storefronts using the word to describe themselves. And if someone starts businesses in multiple fields, what are they then? Also, what about anyone who grew up in poverty, worked hard, and was the first person in their family to create a new business, like a bakery or a hair salon. Are they now also running the risk of getting ridiculed and having their accomplishments diminished if they use the word?
- aaron987 12y agoThis really gets annoying to me too. I think the media is largely to blame for it. Every city with a kid who started a website is referred to as "Silicon <insert word that describes the local terrain>". Likewise, they call every person with a blog an "entrepreneur". I think the reason it annoys me is because it gives people a false impression of what it means to start a real business at a time when we need more people to start businesses. They have unrealistic expectations, and end up getting turned off to the whole concept when it doesn't work out like in "The Social Network".
- phillmv 12y agoI hereby vote to also ban the word "founder". Somehow it manages to be even more weaselly than "entrepreneur".
- smanuel 12y agoThere's no problem with the word. The problem is with people overusing it, most of the time as a synonym for unemployed. And no, if you're working on a cool project/idea that no one is using, that still doesn't make you an entrepreneur.
- loso 12y agoI am going to guess this is a silicon valley hang up because of people being funded. He kind of makes that point towards the end of the article. If you are someone who starts a business the traditional way, win or fail, I think you earned the right to be called an entrepreneur. You are taking a big risk which is scary and invigorating at the same time.
- mcguire 12y ago"I think you earned the right to be called an entrepreneur." The problem is that most of the people who have "earned the right" wouldn't be caught dead calling themselves "entrepreneurs". My plumber is an entrepreneur, my doctor is an entrepreneur, and my accountant is an entrepreneur. They all call themselves "plumbers", "doctors", or "accountants". "Entrepreneur", in fact, doesn't seem to convey any actual information, at least in a what-do-you-do sense. On the other hand, a person calling themselves an "entrepreneur" does tell me one thing: How they want me to view them. As far as I can tell, they want to be seen as someone who takes Big Risks in search of Big Rewards (even if they don't, or even if their idea of a business doesn't make any sense whatsoever).
- loso 12y agoI agree with you. Most people who own a business wouldn't call themselves an entrepreneur as a label. But they are entrepreneurs and would consider themselves one. I could be wrong but what I got from the article is that he wouldn't call these people entrepreneurs at all.
- vorg 12y ago> Entrepreneur is the pinnacle of this to me, because it's very pronunciation makes it sound so... bourgeois... pompous. Perhaps you spend too much time around those people who still pronounce "entrepreneur" with the "-pre-" sound in the middle, instead of the more Anglocized "entreneur". Not dropping that 5th syllable in the middle is what makes it sound so pompous.
- hawkice 12y agoNote: trying to impress your peers doesn't send invoices. Trying to perfect your linkedin page will not send invoices. Having an awesome title, awesome business cards, and an awesome email signature will not send invoices. That being said, if sounding silly is what's stopping you from doing anything that has you sending invoices, take a printout of this article and light it on fire.
- parennoob 12y agoThis article seems to do everything but suggest an alternative – what should I use instead? If I have a small, bootstrapped company doing a few deals and with more in the pipeline, I think it should be fine to have the title "Entrepreneur". If this sounds pompous, what is a good alternative?
- sreitshamer 12y agoSelf-employed is what I use.
- marcus_holmes 12y agoamen brother So what do we use instead? Founder? co-founder? I'd love a proper English term for this. "Business builder" "Satisfier of consumer wants", "Employer", "Creator of value", I dunno. Answers on a postcard
- idlewords 12y agoThat's why I prefer 'trep
- ccozan 12y agoSo let me summarize this: some random guy from internet is mad at the word (!) entrepreneur because it sounds ... pompous? Get over it: this word, entrepreneur, is the definition of what we are doing ( taking risks, becoming self-employed, building an entreprise ). Excuse me now, I am going to eat my lunch in a eatery, the restaurants are for the bourgeoisie.
- jawerty 12y agoI sort of get the point of the article, but I don't undestand why what you call yourself is this important. It honestly doesn't matter what you refer to yourself in your career or otherwise. And you shouldn't be getting this upset about it either.
- jasode 12y agoMeh. After years of reading hundreds of essays from people complaining about how others use words ("hacker", "professional", "engineer", "artist", "freedom", and hundreds of other words, etc), I've come to the conclusion that the complaint says more about the rigidity of the complainer rather than anything insightful about language evolution. It's ironic that the blog's name has the word "consulting" in it. When I was in my early 20s, I hated that word. Whenever I told friends I was a consultant, I'd immediately follow up with a self-deprecation: "that's just a fancy label for white-collar prostitute." At the time, "consulting" to me meant McKinsey or Bain and not your bodyshop of Visual Basic programmers. I preferred "contractor" or "freelancer" to the title "consultant". However, the years have gone by and I no longer care. Anyone can call themselves "consultant" and it doesn't bother me at all. It's just bikeshedding now. Anyone remember the 1990s complaints about the title "webmaster" because (gasp!) it had the word "master" as a suffix? How pompous of those html authors! We should be thankful that "web-jedi" didn't gain any currency and webmaster has already fallen out of favor. The author suggests "business owner" instead of "entrepreneur". I used to not like that label either. "Business Owner" had connotations of being some monopolist crushing the protesters on Occupy Wall Street or the slavedriver paying his workers minimum wage while drinking their babies blood. Maybe I can call myself "unemployed speculator" or some other circumlocution so as to not offend anyone. Personally, I think "entrepreneur" does not convey any false pretenses about prestige or bootstrapping. It's fascinating that some find a word neutral while others perceive it as putting on airs. You can't win. If the author doesn't like "entrepreneur" and I have mixed feelings about "business owner", what's a good compromise? How about other candidate labels such as "wantrepreneur"[1] which is what some of non-HN folks call HN'ers. Or how about "wannabe philanthropist"? If high-profile charity is the apotheosis of the journey from student->businessman->philanthropist, is "wannabe philanthropist" self-deprecating enough while simultaneously conveying bold aspirations? If family & friends have that puzzled look and ask, "what the heck is a wannabe philanthropist?", you explain the transformation of Bill Gates from Harvard dropout -> CEO -> Gates Foundation. As a bonus, you can throw in words like "camel" and "eye of the needle". And after all that, they'll say "oh for fock's sake, just call yourself an entrepreneur!" [1]http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wantrepreneur http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wantrepreneur
- 12y ago
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- notacoward 12y agoFWIW, here is the definition of "entrepreneur" from Etmology Online. <<< 1828, "manager or promoter of a theatrical production," reborrowing of French entrepreneur "one who undertakes or manages," agent noun from Old French entreprendre "undertake" (see enterprise). The word first crossed the Channel late 15c. (Middle English entreprenour) but did not stay. Meaning "business manager" is from 1852. Related: Entrepreneurship. >>> http://etymonline.com/index.php?search=entrepreneur http://etymonline.com/index.php?search=entrepreneur "Undertake"? "Theatrical"? Heh. Uncharacteristically, etymonline doesn't mention the two French component words, which more literally translate to "between-taker". A middleman, in other words. In more common parlance, anyone who starts their own business of any kind is an entrepreneur. Food-truck operator? She's an entrepreneur. Hair-salon owner? He's an entrepreneur too. If we wanted to make finer distinctions about degrees of entrepreneurship, those distinctions might be based on risk. Buying your own equipment and materials to sell stuff at the local art fair? Very entrepreneurial. Taking other people's money to sell to an enterprise where you have inside contacts? Barely entrepreneurial at all. And that's where I think anger like that in the OP comes from. People resent the way that founders of VC-backed high-tech companies seem to act like they're the vanguard or elite of entrepreneurship, when there's often very little entrepreneurial risk involved. For example: * Person A goes to work for AmaGooBook directly. * Person B starts a company that fails, then goes to work for AmaGooBook. * Person C starts a company that's acquired by AmaGooBook. What's the difference? Why are B and C entrepreneurs but A isn't? Because investors paid their salaries for a couple of years? Not all startups are like this, of course, but the question is whether those that are should claim the same "entrepreneur" mantle that others truly deserve. When a startup founder orders pizza, it's highly likely that the guy who owns the pizza shop is the real entrepreneur.
- EGreg 12y agoFine let's invent an english word. POOK. Call them POOKS?
- ianstallings 12y agoWell I certainly wouldn't want to appear silly to someone else. That would just crush my spirits.
- wellboy 12y agoIt does sound a little silly, I'm using the word "founder" or "startup founder" now, it can replace the word "entrepreneur" around 7 out of 10 times and people get it.
- andykmaguire 12y agoYeah, not impressed. I think it sounds far more pretentious to refer to yourself as a CEO when you run a company of 5 people - that's always made me a bit uncomfortable. Entrepreneur denotes startup founder. Fair enough. It's more about tone, etc. than anything else. This reads a bit like hater rant.