ENTREPRENEUR | MANAGER | INTRAPRENEUR

Entrepreneur vs. Manager

Entrepreneur:

Role: An entrepreneur is the founder of a business, responsible for the vision, strategy, and overall direction of the enterprise. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, founder of Biocon, took the risk of entering the biotech industry in India, driving innovation in healthcare.

Focus: Entrepreneurs focus on opportunities, innovation, and growth. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder of Paytm, identified the opportunity in digital payments and transformed it into a leading fintech company.

Risk: Entrepreneurs assume significant financial and personal risk, as seen with Sunil Bharti Mittal, who started Bharti Airtel with a small investment and turned it into one of India’s largest telecom companies.

Manager:

Role: A manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of an existing business. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, manages the operations of a global tech giant, ensuring it runs efficiently and remains competitive.

Focus: Managers focus on optimizing processes and maintaining stability. For instance, Indra Nooyi, as the former CEO of PepsiCo, focused on optimizing the company’s product portfolio and driving global growth.

Risk: Managers typically operate within an established framework, assuming less personal risk compared to entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneur vs. Intrapreneur

Entrepreneur:

Scope: An entrepreneur operates independently, outside of an established organization. Vineeta Singh, co-founder of Sugar Cosmetics, started her venture independently, targeting the cosmetics market in India.

Freedom: Entrepreneurs like Deepinder Goyal, founder of Zomato, have the freedom to innovate and pivot their business models as needed, which is key to their success.

Reward: Entrepreneurs may achieve significant financial returns, as seen in the valuation and growth of companies like Nykaa, founded by Falguni Nayar.

Intrapreneur:

Scope: An intrapreneur operates within an existing organization. For example, Rajesh Gopinathan led the digital transformation at TCS, driving innovation within the company.

Support: Intrapreneurs like Nandan Nilekani at Infosys had the backing of the organization to innovate and develop new solutions like the Aadhaar project.

Reward: Intrapreneurs may receive recognition within the company and career advancement, as seen with Sanjay Mehrotra at Micron Technology.