Difference between Innovators and Entrepreneurs


In today's dynamic world – where all old systems are getting rapidly replaced with alternative technologies, ways of life, methods of working – individuals and businesses can survive and thrive only in an atmosphere that encourages original thought and the launch of new businesses. This evolution of business operations has facilitated the operations of new age innovators, and has also ushered in the era of several new entrepreneurs.

This innovator + entrepreneur partnership has, in turn, led to a massive upsurge in development and manufacture of goods, services, etc. creating plenty of job openings for others. There is a relationship between the two terms, innovators and entrepreneurs, but it does not mean they represent the same thing or notion.

Who are Innovators?

People who bring something new to the market – whether it be a product, service, method, model, or idea – are known as innovators. As innovation provides value and brings about positive changes to a long established (and thus, possibly outdated) service or product, it contributes to the development of brand-new items.

This positive impact to society makes innovation a crucial component in any industry. As far as sources of inspiration are concerned, changes in technology, new information, emerging markets – even alterations in economic conditions – may all trigger an innovative idea in the minds of acute observers.

Innovators are expected to have certain rare talents, most importantly the ability to think creatively, look at a given situation from a different point of view, and the drive to carry out real life experiments or observations to determine if their ideas are practical or feasible; more importantly, they try to figure through experiments if their ideas, when pursued, end up providing the impact that they had originally factored in.

Who are Entrepreneurs?

Entrepreneurs are individuals with keen sense of business, and have the ability to turn fantastic concepts and real-life opportunities (even challenges) into lucrative business prospects. As a result of the high level of risks involved in adapting such situations to business opportunities, majority of entrepreneurs (people who start their own businesses) are not comfortable taking chances; instead, they rely on solid research and ground work so that they can gauge the market before taking a plunge.

The majority of people who start their own businesses are quite inventive or capitalize on innovations that are already available in the market. Some of the skill sets that are required by entrepreneurs include the ability to lead others, aversion to risk, willingness to put in long hours of labor, devotion to one's business, and managerial and planning skills.

Differences − Innovators and Entrepreneurs

The following table highlights how Innovators are different from Entrepreneurs −

Characteristics Innovators Entrepreneurs

Definition

People who bring something new to the market, whether it be a product, service, method, model, or idea, are known as innovators.

People who are able to turn valuable ideas into viable business prospects are known as entrepreneurs.

Skill sets

Creative thinking and the ability to explore are prerequisites for innovators.

Skillsets such as leadership, commitment, hard effort, being risk averse, management ability, and also planning ability are necessary for entrepreneurs.

Risk-taking

Most inventors are not risk takers.

Entrepreneurs are risk takers.

Interest

When an innovation reaches the point when it is introduced to the market, the inventors who came up with the concept lose interest in it and either go on to further refine the idea themselves or move on to inventing a new product.

Entrepreneurs are those who invest all of their efforts into a business endeavor in the hopes that it will be profitable.

Conclusion

While innovators bring something novel to the market in the form of a product, service, technique, or model, entrepreneurs are the ones who turn fantastic ideas into profitable business prospects. Because they are dependent on one another and neither can live without the other, inventors and entrepreneurs are both essential to the success of any given endeavor.

Updated on: 15-Dec-2022

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