I 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.
Entrepreneur is a silly word, and you sound silly when you call yourself one
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Re: Entrepreneur is a silly word, and you sound silly when you call yourself one
#32"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.
Preneur 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)
Re: Entrepreneur is a silly word, and you sound silly when you call yourself one
#33> 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.
Re: Entrepreneur is a silly word, and you sound silly when you call yourself one
#34This 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 ". 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 e…
I hereby vote to also ban the word "founder". Somehow it manages to be even more weaselly than "entrepreneur".
Re: Entrepreneur is a silly word, and you sound silly when you call yourself one
#35Damned, 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".
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Re: Entrepreneur is a silly word, and you sound silly when you call yourself one
#36Note: 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.
Re: Entrepreneur is a silly word, and you sound silly when you call yourself one
#37This 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?
Re: Entrepreneur is a silly word, and you sound silly when you call yourself one
#38amen 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
Re: Entrepreneur is a silly word, and you sound silly when you call yourself one
#39> 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.
I have never in my life heard it pronounced without the -pre- sound.
Re: Entrepreneur is a silly word, and you sound silly when you call yourself one
#40I cringe when hearing the term "serial entrepreneur."
Honest question: what should someone call themselves when they've started, for example, a restaurant, two software companies, and a property management firm?