A Brief History Of Entrepreneurship

Contents
Earliest Period
Middle Ages
17th Century
18th Century
19th Century &
20th Century
 The history of entrepreneurship in India starts in the era of Indus Valley
Civilization.
During the Early Harappa period (about 32002600 BCE)
This age is also called as copper age, the Indus Valley Civilization area
showed ceramic similarities with southern Turkmenistan and northern Iran
which suggested considerable mobility and trade.
Apart from agriculture and hunting, the Indus people supported themselves
by trading goods like exchange of Potteries, ornaments, exchanges of
animals etc
 Indus valley civilization: organized enterprise at a time when the
world just belonged to clothe itself.
The early years (1000 B.C-500 B.C): Indian trader introduced re-
exporting bought silk from Chinese and sold to central Asia. Bought
horses from west Asians and sold to the Chinese.
The Maurya Era: In modern times the Maurya Empire is remembered
as one of the golden ages of Indian history, a time when the country
was united and independent.
Vast territory, better trade. Widespread use of metallic money,
Missions to Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia increase trade.
The people were divided into seven endogamous groups--philosophers,
peasants, herdsmen, traders, soldiers, government officials, and
councilors.
 Earliest Period

Marco polo , as a go-between was an

Italian.

He wants to trade routes to the far East.

As a go-between, He had to sign a

contract with a money person to sell his
goods. In the contract merchant-
adventurer took a loan at 22.5% rate
including insurance .
 Capitalist was the passive risk bearer and merchant-
adventurer took the active role in
trading, bearing all physical and
emotional risks.

When the merchant-adventurer successfully sold the

goods and completed the trip, the profits were divided
with the capitalist taking most of them(upto 75%), while
the merchant-adventurer settled for the remaining
25 %.
Middle Ages
Entrepreneur used to describe both as an
actor and a person who managed large
production projects.

Individuals did not take any risks because

all the resources used to provided by the
government of the country, all an
entrepreneur should do is to manage it.
 A typical entrepreneur in
the middle age was the
priest.

The person in charge of

great architectural works
used to build castles and
fortifications, public
buildings, abbeys, and
cathedrals.
 17th Century
The connection of the risk with entrepreneurship developed
in the 17th century.

An entrepreneur was a person who entered into a contract

with the government to perform a service or to supply
stipulated products.

John law, a frenchman was one of the entrepreneur in that

period.

The founder of the royal bank of France and the Mississippi

Company,which had an exclusive franchise to trade between
France and the new world.

Monopoly on french trade eventually led to collaspe of the

company.
 The colonial ERA II (1850 A.D-1900A.D): Railways set up (1853).
cowasjee Nanabhai Davar first cotton mill in Bombay. Sir J.N Tata
founded Jamshedpur steelworks. Foundations of jute mills, pharmaceutical
industry were laid.
Major players of the era were Ghanshyam das, Birla, Goenkas, khaitans,
jamsetjee jejeebhoy, Mafaltal Gagalbhai, Laxmanrao kirlsokar,
walchand Hirachand,Nusserwanjee wadia, pirojsha Godrej,
K.Gopalakrishnan, L.K.singhania, Gujar- lal modi and Lala shriram
The colonial era III (1900 A.D-1947A.D): New crop arises in this
Period. Change makers like JRD Tata, MS Oberai, jamnalal Bajaj lead
the way for Indian entrepreneurs.
After Independence: scale industrialization entrepreneurs like
Dirubai Ambani emerge.Globalisation arrives, and with it the premjis,
the Narayana murthys, the Rajesh Jains etc.,Over the last 68 years,
India has seen the entrepreneur evolves in different role.
The modern entrepreneurs are wealth creators, communicators,
change agents, entertainers etc.
 Richard Cantillion, a well-known English economist
at the beginning of the 17th century, understood Laws
mistake.

He viewed the entrepreneur as a risk taker, observing

that merchants, farmers, craftsmen, and others sole
proprirtors buy at a certain price and sell at an
uncertain price, therefore operating at a risk.
18th Century
In the 18th century, the person with capital
was differentiated from the one who needed
capital.

The entrepreneur was distinguished from the

capital provider.

One reason for this differentiation was the

industrialization occuring throughout the
world.

Eli Whitney was an American inventor

best known for inventing the cotton gin.
This was one of the key inventions of the
industrial Revolution.
 Thomas Edison, the inventor of many
inventions. He was developing new
technologies and was unable to finance his
inventions himself.

Edison was a capital user (an entrepreneur),

not a provider (a venture capitalist).
 19th & 20th Centuries

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries,

entrepreneurs were frequently not
distinguished from managers and were viewed
mostly from an economic perspective.

The entrepreneur organizes and manages an

enterprise for personal gain.

The materials consumed in the business, for

the use of the land, for the services he
employs, and for the capital he requires.
 Andrew Carnegie is one of the best examples
of this definition.

Carnegie, who descended from a poor scottish

family, made the American Steel Industry one
of the wonders of the industrial world.

In the middle of the 20th Century

The function of the entrepreneurs is to recreate or

revolutionize the pattern of production by
introducing an invention.

Innovation, the act of introducing some new ideas,

is one of the most difficult tasks for the entrepreneur.
 Future of Entrepreneurship: Technology plays a crucial role in the
future of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs have the chance to do both
strategic planning and administrative work for their business.
The Internet and especially social media tools makes it possible to turning
passion into a thriving business.
Once an entrepreneur is in possession of these two, it is a matter of
learning and mastering the different tools available online to turn your
idea into a thriving business.
As someone said failures are the stepping Stones for Success. If we
observe the way any entrepreneur, their life is not a bed of roses. They
faced many obstacles in the way of entrepreneurial achievement.