Transcript
I think that entrepreneurship is about having an ability to generate new ideas for business, but it’s also about having the strength, the thick skin and the guts to really make it happen. Entrepreneurs need to be open to change. I think that it’s important that they are willing to pivot and to not flog a dead horse. If eventual strategy isn’t working, then it’s okay to fail. And I think that that’s important. That’s a really important part of entrepreneurship outside of just being a business owner is to be able to change direction and generally, be agile. So simply put, I think that generally entrepreneurship is the willingness to start a new business. But also as mentioned before, the bravery to fail and the openness to learn. I started off Battalion as an agency for the music industry and that was my background. I used to run a music festival in Ibiza I was a manager of. I had a big network within the industry and it was a way for me to use my skill set in a different way than event management. So I set up the agency thinking that all we were going to specialize in was music, which we did for a year. We worked a lot with music artists, record labels, we made music videos, which was super cool and everybody wanted to be a part of the agency. But unfortunately the music industry, particularly the underground music industry, doesn’t make that much money. So we also had to change our direction and luckily we were in Berlin and there was loads of startups there and I was so engrossed with the technology and innovation and it just happened naturally and organically that we shifted and we shifted our focus to focus in innovation and startup culture. And that was, you know, a brave move. But it was also a practical move to ensure the survival of the agency. And I think that willingness to change direction is critical to being a successful entrepreneur and not just holding onto your core business model for dear life. I think that’s my theory there.
The statement “Entrepreneurs are everywhere” is a term which has come from a book; “The Lean Startup”, how today’s entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses. The concept is that you don’t need to own a business to be an entrepreneur because the definition of entrepreneur has changed, as basically anyone can now have access to lots of management schools and business tools. Running a business can essentially be done by anyone. I think that some people prefer not to have the responsibility that comes with running a business, and they prefer to have stability. I think that there’s a certain character trait which comes with entrepreneurial spirit and an entrepreneurial person, which is that they actually thrive in environments of stress. And I do think there are two different types of people. For me entrepreneurship is having that risk-taking characteristic, which for a lot of people they would find mad or they just wouldn’t want to do it. But at the same time, I do understand the concept that now as far as anyone can be an entrepreneur. It’s amazing because of these tools that are out there, in that people now who have no money and they have very little resources can become stars, just using channels such as YouTube or Instagram and using what they have around them and their stories. And I think maybe previously people would have to have wealthy parents or big investors around them to have any chance of being successful. And I think now it’s an amazingly exciting time we’re in today where if people really have the drive and the spirit to do something, they can get seen and they can get noticed. I think anybody can be an entrepreneur now. It’s just whether or not they want to.
