1. The First Entrepreneur: Neolithic's Caveman
The first entrepreneur was the engineering caveman. While the other cave dwellers lugged their food on slabs, he saw the need for a better system of transportation and invented the wheel.
2. Trader's Delight: The Phoenician
Phoenician traders sailed up and down the Mediterranean selling Tyrian Purple, a commodity desired by the Greeks. And they also were the first to use the alphabet to hold trades strategy.
3. To Market They Go: Roman Merchants
Roman entrepreneurs were present in all the open-air markets and covered shops, hawking goods by the side of the road. They also expanded their business to Roman military camps, where they sold food and clothing to soldiers.
4. Explore-Preneurs: Renaissance Trades Man
Began business in exploration and the newest invention, the printing press, while many still maintained trade businesses.
5. American Innovation: Colonial America
The next evolutionary stage of entrepreneurship came during colonial times, as represented by Benjamin Franklin. Among his many parents, newspapers and print shops, he never fprgot the most important tool for any entrepreneur: effective networking.
6. Golden Age : 1840s-1870s
The next form of the entrepreneur came in the form of men heading. West in the 1840s to find gold. While many treasure hunters came back empty-handed, Levi Strauss and other entrepreneurs made the journey because they saw market potential in these diggers.
7. Utilitarian Entrepreneur: 1880s-1900s
Tech-savvy entrepreneurs, who evolved in the late 1880s and early 1900s, based their businesses on electricity. Men like Thomas Edison came from humble origins, but soon turned their businesses into larger-than-life corporations.
8. Ladies’ Turn: 1920s
With the suffrage movement gaining momentum, many women began starring their own businesses. One such entrepreneur, CoCo Chanel, created international sensation because of her clothes and savvy business skills.
9. Revenge Of The Geeks: 1980s-1990s
The next entrepreneurial evolution did not occur until the late 80s and early 90s, when start-ups-began navigating the Internet. Then, any entrepreneur worth his salt had a business card that ended in .com.
10. Tweet This, Like That : 2006-Present
Instead of using the Internet as a forum for their business, social media entrepreneurs are reshaping it to fit their business. These social media entrepreneurs thrive on connectivity and social media colloquialisms such as ‘Like’,’Digg,’and’Tweet’.
The Evolution of Entrepreneurship
The pursuit of profit isn’t a new one, and from Marco Polo to Mark Zuckerberg, the world has seen many different faces attempt this venture. One common characteristic, though? Entrepreneurship. Take a look at what it looked like seven centuries ago, and how it has evolved since.
• Adventure-preneur
Global business? That’s not a 21st century discovery. In fact, we have the early Renaissance entrepreneurs to thank for that. Craftsmen in the 1300s spent several years working as apprentices to learn their trade, make more money and therefore hold more power in civic affairs. When product demand eventually grew to be more than the average tradesman could provide, trade expanded into other countries, and the “adventure-preneur” was born.
• Colonial Expansion
Thanks to ship-building advancement, the first global company, the Dutch East India Company, got its start during this time period. With international travel now booming, merchants began readjusting their selling tactics by strategically setting up trading posts along trade routes to sell supplies to shipping crews. Because colonies didn’t rapidly show profit in these tactics, many English investors withdrew their capital, leaving the market less-competitive– and entrepreneurs more independent than ever (Cue the United States’ independence).
• Industrial Revolution
The next evolutionary stage of entrepreneurship introduces the great innovators many of us so commonly know. Inventors such as Benjamin Franklin and Eli Whitney thrived during this era, but they weren’t the only ones in the market. Business owners could taste what success was like, and began rapidly working on inventions to increase productivity, scale manufacturing and reduce costs. And with wind-powered energy a hindrance of the past, they did just that. In fact, we can thank the inventors of this time period for the technology, transportation and communication that we have today.
• 20th Century
With global trade, electricity and communication now at most entrepreneurs’ fingertips, business in the 20th century was on the rise, with no end in sight. With mass communication now a viable option for marketing a business, 20th century business owners took advantage of it. Advertising spending went up to 45% of the United States’ income, and by 1910, $600 million was being invested into advertising for big businesses alone. For the first time ever, entrepreneurs had newspapers, television and radio as platforms to share their products with the world.
• Today
Welcome to the Information Age! Gone are the days when computers fill an entire room. Personal computers are now the norm, and global marketplaces can be accessed with the click of a button. Geographic borders, that were once limitations, have been blurred, and most entrepreneurs can boast a “.com” at the end of their business name. Modern day business owners no longer just spend their time innovating new products and services, but instead, they manage employees and run new companies.
• The Future
We may not be able to predict what entrepreneurship will look like in the future, or whose face will represent the next era, but we know one thing will remain the same– our team at Arkansas Capital will be here supporting entrepreneurs and growing local businesses in our state. Since 1957, our team has provided flexible financing products of over $1.5 billion in capital to help meet business owners’ needs.
The Stages Of Evolution For Entrepreneurs Across The World
Discover the stages of evolution for successful entrepreneurs who have made it big throughout the course of time. Interesting research by Grasshopper Group, on how Bill Gates” age of founding Microsoft would have differed compared to the age of Facebook and Twitter, where the rise of mobile applications, cloud computing and online communities have shifted consumer interactions and behaviours globally.
From the Stone Age, to the Medieval Age where barter trading thrived as a entrepreneurial venture, to the introduction of suited men or computer geeks in the 1980s founding IT companies, to now founders who dress up casually and work with communities online. Follow this journey of discovering how far entrepreneurs have evolved and come to being, to be relevant for the demands of this time or age. What is next?
Stages of Entrepreneurship
Stage 1 : The Birth of Your Start-Up: This is the beginning of the entrepreneurship cycle of an entrepreneur. It is filled with mixed emotions of excitement, thrill and fear all at the same time. It is time you are seeking independence in the business world and ready to create your own name in the market. You have had a million dollar idea for your startup, but you are not quite sure how to execute it at this stage. But you have a clear vision and a clear mission.
Stage 2 : Surviving and Growing Your Business: This is the stage where you have successfully launched your new company, and now you are looking for strategies to survive in the industry. Some entrepreneurs look for investors who could fund their start-ups while some others chose to stay independent. Both have their pros and cons. While choosing to stay independent will give you more power and control over your start-up, it will put you in a tricky financial situation. The main aim of this stage is survival. You have to select what is best for you.
Stage 3 : The Hyper Stage: When your company is seeing hyper growth suddenly, you will not be in control of the outcomes. At this stage, many start-ups go into trouble because entrepreneurs start getting over confident having seen success. They feel that there is nothing they could do wrong. Those who get cocky at this stage end up being blindsided. Some entrepreneurs start celebrating and enjoying in this stage and completely forget about their desired goals and missions. To survive this stage, you have to be stable. Your start-up has to be stable.
Stage 4 : The Prime Stage: When your company has crossed the point of survival and stability that is when real success is reached. This is the more predictable growth phase. It is best to stay in his phase as long as you can. You realize that other businesses and companies can make you stronger because they themselves are strong enough. You start to explore partnerships with other companies. You form inter depended relations with other successful companies. This keeps your company in its prime and enhances your growth opportunities.
Stage 5 : Aging and Early Decline: A situation might come up where one of the most significant faces of your company moves out or your partnerships with others dont work out. Someone else might have come up with a better idea in the market, and your idea might have become useless. This leads to your business and company being disrupted. At this stage, you can do one of two things: You can either restart your journey to unwind what you began, or you can disrupt your company.
Stage 6 : Illness and Rapid Decline: This phase should be expected if you are too late in figuring out the early signs of decline. This happens when your team is no longer sure what they are supposed to do, or it is unable to fix the problems that come up. If you don’t take action immediately, it will lead to fears, uncertainties and doubts setting in. The company is sure to fail and decline if no action is taken.
Stage 7 : Death: There are times when no matter how hard we work to make a start-up work, it just fails. Sometimes you are so deep into the hole that has been created due to bankruptcy or restrained cash flow, that there is no way to dig yourself out. At times like these, the best option is to shut your business down because it is leading nowhere. Take it down before it takes you down with it.
It is better to be well informed and well researched before entering the world of entrepreneurships and start-ups. Know what you’re doing and stay focused on your goals.
Source :
1.https://grasshopper.com/resources/infographics/evolution-of-the-entrepreneur
2.http://arcapital.com/the-evolution-of-entrepreneurship/
3.https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/293463
When used with the main verb, modal verbs do not end with -s for the third-person singular. Modal auxiliary verbs never change form, but they have a different form for past tense.
The modal auxiliaries include:
| Present Tense | Past Tense |
Will
Can
Must (have to)
May
Should (ought to) (had better)
|
Would (used to)
Could
(Had to)
Might
Should (ought to)
|
NB: The words in parentheses ( ) are semi-modals. They have the same meaning, but they are different grammatically.
Will – Would
Will indicates a ‘willingness’ to do something in the future. The negative form of will – will not (won’t)indicates an ‘unwillingness’ (refusal, reluctance) to do something.
Example:
- I will give you another opportunity.
- I will play tomorrow.
- They will arrive at 10 AM.
- She won’t come today.
Would indicates general or repeated willingness in the past. It also indicates preference in the present.
Example:
- If you did not leave, I would still be taking care of you.
- Whenever I had to go there, they would throw a party.
- We thought that people would buy this book.
- If I were you, I would not do it.
- I would like to make a toast.
Used to sometimes replaces would but sometimes it would be grammatically incorrect if we use used to in place of would.
Example:
- When I was in school, I used to make sketches.
- He often used to cry at night without reason.
- I used to take a break at this time of the year.
Can – Could – May – Might
These modals express possibility and ability.
Can indicates ability. Could indicates ability with an option.
Example:
- I can do it. (The subject ‘I’ is sure about his/her ability)
- I could do it. (The subject ‘I’ is not sure about his/her ability)
- They cannot do it. (present)
- They could not do it. (past)
Can & could also indicate possibility.
Example:
- The temperature can rise this month.
- They can’t go too far by now.
- It could rain later.
May and might both indicate possibility but might can suggest that there is less possibility than may.
Example:
- It may rain later.
- It might rain later.
- They may come back.
- They might come back.
Must
Must indicates necessity.
Example:
- I must leave now.
- He must study hard.
- Alex must go home by 6.00 pm.
Have to has the similar meaning to must but implies less urgency.
Example:
- I have to leave now.
- He has to study hard.
- Alex has to go by 6.00 pm.
- I had to leave then. (past)
- He had to study hard to pass the exam. (past)
Should
Should indicates obligation and probability.
Example:
- You should come home early.
- You should not smoke at all.
- I should visit my parents more often.
- There should be an extra key for the lock in the drawer. (probability)
- He should have reached by now. (probability)
- I should have done that. (obligation in the past)
Ought to and had better sometimes replaces should.
Example:
- You ought to come home early.
- We ought to have taken a taxi. (Past)
- We had better leave. (Had better is generally used in spoken English.)
- I think parents ought to give children more freedom. (Had better won’t be appropriate here.
