Entrepreneurship, which can adapt to the social, economic, and environmental needs of every era and respond accordingly, is based on creative and innovative steps taken to enable resources to create value. Today, when digitalization is a fundamental priority and environmental and social crises demand solutions, entrepreneurship is becoming dynamic, digital, and sustainable.

To understand the form entrepreneurship has taken today and trace its development journey, it is essential to first define this concept and examine the transformation it has undergone to date. Referring to the definition developed by management consultant Peter Ferdinand Drucker, we can say that entrepreneurship is “the process of creating the capacity to generate value from resources.” Although the concept gained its current meaning in French in the 19th century, researchers claim that the driving force behind entrepreneurship can be traced back to prehistoric times. Of course, this driving force takes on a different form in each era, determined by political, social, economic, and cultural conditions. In this article, we will first examine the dynamics of entrepreneurship’s development and then focus on the current state of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

How did it develop?

Although it may seem surprising at first to suggest that entrepreneurship cannot be limited to being a modern phenomenon and can be traced back through the ages, researchers insist on emphasizing the importance of historical analysis in understanding the emergence of entrepreneurship. One such study, the book The Invention of Enterprise: Entrepreneurship from Ancient Mesopotamia to Modern Times, addresses this claim within a broad framework. The book points out that traces of entrepreneurship can be found in the records of the Babylonian and Assyrian civilizations and highlights that Assyriology emphasizes that the term “tamkarum,” the name given to merchants by these civilizations, is synonymous with the word “entrepreneur.” The development of entrepreneurship goes hand in hand with large-scale transformations such as the increasing contact between markets around the world and the shift from local to global trade. The development of monetary systems and banking also accelerated this process. The industrial revolution, the establishment of transportation networks that enabled the globalization of its effects, the acceleration of mass production, the development of computer technologies, and the forms that digitalization and automation processes have taken and will take in the near future keep entrepreneurship constantly open to development and transformation.

What is it?

As mentioned, while it is possible to trace the different manifestations of the entrepreneurial impulse throughout the ages, the widespread use of the concept of entrepreneurship occurred in France in the 18th century. In the 1723 “Universal Dictionary of Commerce” prepared by French economist Louis-Philémon Savary, the concept is defined as “a person who undertakes a project.” Until the 12th century, the concept of entrepreneurship encompassed many meanings, such as inventor, manager, planner, and founder. Over time, it shed its additional meanings and took on a meaning where commercial and economic elements were more decisive. For example, in the works of French economist Richard Cantillon, an entrepreneur is defined as a person who engages in commercial activity for profit and makes commercial decisions by taking risks in uncertain situations.

New combinations

At this point, it is necessary to mention another name that defines entrepreneurs as actors of historical transformation: According to Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter, the essence of entrepreneurship lies in creating “new combinations” that will transform the current state of the market. This is only possible through the creativity of the entrepreneur. Schumpeter’s definition of entrepreneurship moves away from the traditional interpretation of the concept as a “risk-taking investor” and places innovation at the center of entrepreneurship. Schumpeter states that the key to entrepreneurship is not the invention of a product, but rather shaping it into a form that will be commercially successful. According to him, the creation of these combinations can take the form of producing a new product, developing a new resource, discovering a new production method, and so on.

The present state of entrepreneurship

Today, we are talking about a new generation of entrepreneurship shaped by digitalization, post-pandemic changing conditions, and current global social balances. All these transformations are not only changing the definition of entrepreneurship but also giving rise to new types and mechanisms of entrepreneurship. Among the current trends in the evolving entrepreneurial ecosystem, digital entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship or impact entrepreneurship are at the forefront, while the ecosystem is increasingly diversifying with new types of ventures such as unicorns, decacorns, and hectocorns.

Current trends

Digital entrepreneurship: Gartner, one of the leading technology research and consulting firms, states that 91% of companies are taking steps towards digitalization, while 87% of company leaders have identified digitalization as their top priority. In such an atmosphere, it is impossible for entrepreneurship not to be transformed by digitalization. Digital entrepreneurship is precisely the result of this transformation. So, who is a digital entrepreneur? The term digital entrepreneur is used to describe individuals who engage in entrepreneurship by using existing technologies in the digital sphere or developing new technologies. Examples of this type of entrepreneurship include producing content for e-commerce, YouTube, and similar platforms, offering online courses, or providing consulting services related to digital services. Unlike traditional entrepreneurship, digital entrepreneurship is quite flexible in terms of both time and location. Individuals can carry out their business processes for as long as they need and wherever they are, rather than within a specific time frame and in a fixed office.

Social entrepreneurship and impact entrepreneurship: Social entrepreneurship or impact entrepreneurship, which has become increasingly common in recent times, refers to an initiative that, in addition to its profit-making objective, also aims to create a positive social, environmental, or other impact. Social entrepreneurship, which can be defined as designing more transparent, ethical, and sustainable business processes to solve problems on both a local and global scale, aims to increase not only economic wealth but also social wealth. Businesses with a social entrepreneurship perspective evaluate the value they create not only financially but also environmentally and socially.

Another notable characteristic of impact entrepreneurship is that the intended value is not expected to emerge only at the end of the production process; rather, the production process itself is structured to maximize social benefit. Examples of this include the inclusion of disadvantaged social groups in business processes and the empowerment of local communities.

Generation Z and new-age entrepreneurship

Another noteworthy topic regarding the current state of entrepreneurship is Generation Z’s relationship with entrepreneurship. The answers given as to why the desire for entrepreneurship is so prevalent among Generation Z point to this generation’s access to the internet from birth, or in other words, their access to tools that enable them to solve their own problems and the sense of independence that this brings. Another reason cited is the low start-up costs required for entrepreneurship today. In particular, the fact that digital entrepreneurship can be pursued as a “side job” and the flexibility it offers in terms of both working conditions and working hours are among the factors driving Generation Z towards this field.

Did you know?

The study conducted by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), which tracks entrepreneurship on a global scale, with start-ups based on impact entrepreneurship, contains interesting statistics on this subject:

• The findings reveal that the gender gap in impact entrepreneurship initiatives is lower than in commercial ventures. While the gap in social entrepreneurship is 55% to 45%, the ratio in commercial organizations is reported to be 66% to 34%.
• The study, conducted in 58 countries, found that the prevalence rate of individuals currently engaged in social entrepreneurship is 3.7%, indicating that this rate varies significantly between countries.
• Another statistic highlighted by research in this field shows that impact entrepreneurship allows for greater diversity. For example, it is noted that ethnic minorities represent 31% of social entrepreneurship, while this rate is limited to 8% in commercial ventures.

Types of startups

The fact that a large proportion of the millions of startups established are profitable paves the way for the continuous development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the emergence of different types of startups.

Unicorns: Startups valued at over $1 billion. As of 2022, there are approximately 1,100 unicorn companies, which are symbolized by the mythological creature the unicorn due to their rarity.

Decacorns: Startups valued at over $10 billion. In Türkiye, Getir and Trendyol are recognized as two startups that have achieved a valuation of over $10 billion, earning them the title of decacorn.

Hectocorns or super unicorns: These are startups valued at over $100 billion. ByteDance, the developer of numerous applications including SpaceX and TikTok, is currently recognized as one of the world’s two super unicorns.