making entrepreneurship contagious
Linda Rottenberg and Chris Bierly argue in this opinion piece that the best incubator for entrepreneurship occurs when entrepreneurs form close networks and nurture fellow risk-takers with their experience and resources. Rottenberg was named one of “America’s Best Leaders” by U.S. News & World Report and one of TIME’s 100 “Innovators for the 21st century,” and is author of The New York Times bestseller, Crazy Is a Compliment: The Power of Zigging When Everyone Else Zags. Chris Bierly is a vice president and director in Bain’s Boston office, and a leader in its principle investments, media, education, and consumer and retail areas. Rottenberg is co-founder of Endeavor, which supports high-impact entrepreneurs. Bierly is a senior advisor at Endeavor.
Few ideas in business conjure more vivid images of bold individualism than the do-it-yourself entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs go it alone, the mythology insists. They are swashbuckling mavericks, bucking the establishment. The image is irresistibly romantic and deeply entrenched.
It is also completely misleading.
We have groundbreaking evidence that the most vibrant entrepreneurship is developed by high-impact entrepreneurs when they operate in tight-knit networks, nurturing fellow risk-takers and trading know-how, capital and tough love. We’ve mapped this cross-pollination across generations and continents. And we’ve done this not by looking at the most obvious communities, like Silicon Valley, but at some of the harshest terrain for innovation.
Listen to our Innovate interview with Linda Rottenberg...