FROM LEMONADE STANDS TO ROUTERS
Can
Uslay, Georgia Institute of Technology
Richard D. Teach, Georgia Institute of Technology
Robert G. Schwartz, Mercer University
Principal Topic
This work represents a study of sixty-six subjects: forty-seven male and eight female one-time entrepreneurs, and eleven male serial entrepreneurs. Subjects were interviewed and their comments were recorded and transcribed. Each subject was also asked to complete a questionnaire. Interview topics included definitions of an entrepreneur, success, opportunity recognition, and work activities. Survey topics covered family background, their firms, and firm management.
Method
Content analysis was used to analyze the transcripts of the personal interviews. Hypotheses regarding the influence of childhood business, entrepreneurs’ birth order and proportion of serial entrepreneurship were investigated after controlling for firm size and age. This exploratory research utilized means testing to determine differences between the respondent groups.
Results and Implications
Childhood businesses did not necessarily lead to serial entrepreneurship, though it was interesting to note that almost 60% of the entrepreneurs had had at least one child’s business. The analyses suggested that most entrepreneurs were not first-born children in their family. The proportion of serial entrepreneurs among the sample (11 out of 58) was lower than presented in earlier literature. These results should be further explored.
Content analyses did not reveal significant attitudinal differences between one-time, serial, male and female entrepreneurs. Success to most entrepreneurs appeared to mean self-actualization, i.e., achievement in life as well as business, meeting personal goals, and not necessarily becoming rich. One-time and serial entrepreneurs’ work activities did not appear to be different in day-to-day activities to opportunity seeking and networking. Opportunity recognition appeared to be a circumstance related to observation, i.e., identifying and fulfilling a market need that was being ignored.
CONTACT: Can Uslay, Georgia Tech, 755 Ferst Drive Atlanta, GA 30332; (T) 404-385-1390; (F) 404-894-6030; can.uslay@mgt.gatech.edu
2002 Babson College. All Rights Reserved. Last Updated March 2003.