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Repeat Entrepreneurs Case Study Essay

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Introduction This paper will examine whether repeat entrepreneurs search for opportunities differently than entrepreneurs who found only one company. Before examining the case for or against this theory, a brief discussion what makes up an entrepreneur opens this paper. From there it moves into a brief discussion of Howard Stevenson and his importance within the field of study of entrepreneurism. Then the focus turns to a case for or against whether repeat entrepreneurs search for opportunities differently than entrepreneurs who found only one company. To emphasize the findings discussed, a brief case study of a successful entrepreneur hopes to reinforce the concepts discussed. The paper will close with a summation of the findings and …show more content…

A Case Against
Repeat entrepreneurs know they have the ability to identify an opportunity and turn that opportunity into a business. In most cases, they have already done it at least once. Unfortunately, this does not mean that the first business was a success or that they will be able to repeat the success the first business may have had. In fact, if the first business was a failure, there are indications that the second business may fail as well. Recent research “shows that instead of learning from mistakes, entrepreneurs are just as apt to be overoptimistic after failure as before. Their overoptimism remains undimmed by failure” (Ucbasaran, Westhead & Wright, 2011). This overoptimism can cause an entrepreneur to take on risky opportunities, fail to properly plan for the unforeseen or waste financial resources instead of looking for and finding the right opportunity.
Successful entrepreneurs looking to become repeat entrepreneurs may incorrectly over-focus on recreating their success that ideas for future opportunities are not as strong as the previous ones. Where the first opportunity an entrepreneur pursued may have grown from an organic problem solving process, repeat entrepreneurs may look to duplicate that success instead of taking the time to grow into another opportunity as organically as the first. “The greatest, and more crucial, challenge

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