Entrepreneurs vs. Empresarios

Outside Silicon Valley, the world is not so enthusiastic about entrepreneurship. In Central America, where we work, the word has a stigma. I found this out when our team in Nicaragua reported that some entrepreneurs were rebelling against using the term for entrepreneur in Spanish: emprendedor. While the word entrepreneur has achieved almost mythic status in the U.S. — so much so that it’s now used to describe anyone from the next Steve Jobs to the miserably self- employed, the word does not have the same glow in the rest of the world for reasons that say a lot about the development challenges humanity faces.

Forsaking emprendedor, many entrepreneurs in Central America prefer the word empresario, which basically means an already-arrived businessman. The key difference between emprendedor and empresario is that the former is full of potential, while the latter fundamentally represents potential realized. One implies inexperience, risk and delusion, the other power, status, authority. One represents the uncertain future, where everything will undoubtedly go wrong; the other security, the ability to let up for a second. Certainly there are some empresarios who think, care, and actively plan for growth, for the future, and who take risks — but they are in the minority. This is what keeps poor countries poor — not enough empresarios growing their businesses.

We had a lively debate about which word to use – we ended up using both. I personally much prefer the word emprendedor because of the potential and innovation inherent in it, two words that are key to the future. There’s another reason too, call me old fashioned; status should be earned, not given, and no one works harder to earn it than entrepreneurs.

Is it true then that a problem with much of the planet is that it doesn’t sufficiently value the concept of potential, because the ceiling of potential that most people can imagine is not the stars but, maddeningly, only a couple of inches above their heads? Should it really concern us that most entrepreneurs in the developing world are hoping not to crush but to join the status quo? Absolutely it should concern us.

It’s no surprise that in societies with large amounts of socio-economic mobility, the word potential packs a lot more punch than in more conservative societies lacking social mobility. In static societies, the word entrepreneur just means that you are starting out on your own, with few resources, most likely few contacts, and historically little if any chance of overcoming the thousands of nicks and cuts conspiring against your success.

This limiting view of potential makes it hard for entrepreneurs to be taken seriously, and the mere act of just trying to take oneself seriously can become exhausting. In a world where the deck is stacked against you, where the net present value of the word potential is near zero, you don’t want to be the striver and dreamer taking a sledgehammer to the status quo. You want to be the status quo. You want cash in hand. You want standing in the system, even if the system is intolerably broken. The idea of fixing the system probably never occurs to you. (If it does occur to you, and you are reading this post, go to our website right now and apply to be in the second Accelerator class!)

Low expectations and lack of faith in the future among entrepreneurs is a very tricky problem in our industry, and one that demands more attention. But there is cause for a lot of hope. One of the most optimistic, positive gatherings of entrepreneurial-minded people is happening next week. More on that on Sunday.