There was a tensed discussion in my class about this one great man, Thomas Edison. Yes, it's for sure, his contribution to the world is something that no one could refute..He was the man who has brightened our lives since many many years ago. Yet, there is one thing that many has been discussed for quite sometime, which is either he was an entrepreneur or not. And, of course, this issue has engaged me into a very lively discourse [myb, i should call it a debate] with my other classmates.
Before that, let's draw a very clear line between an inventor and innovator.
- Inventor is a person who creates a new technical idea and employs some physical means as to accomplish the idea. The goal is to find a technical solution!
- Innovator is a person who transforms knowledge for the betterment of the society as well as for the economic growth. The goal is to satisfy the market needs!
Entrepreneur, meanwhile, is a person who seeks for a business opportunity and, therefore, creates an organization as a means to realize his business goal. The aim is to make money!
Hence, by only going thru all these three definitions, we can confidently say that an innovator is simply an entrepreneur, while an inventor doesn't seem to suit for the entrepreneur title. So, whoever is an innovator, he is an entrepreneur.
Okay, let's put the above argument into our previous discussion, which is either Thomas Edison was really an entrepreneur or not. If you google the guy's name, you would find many articles about him. Many of them are referring him as an inventor rather than an innovator. So, as for the definition itself, we can now declare that Thomas Edison is not an entrepreneur.
Disclaimer: this is just my superficial observation in regards to this issue. I have no rights to claim my views is the right one! moreover, a view is just a view! it can't be told right or wrong unless it comes with a solid evidence..WHATEVER!
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