The Intentional Entrepreneur

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Transgenerational Entrepreneurship – Successfully Passing on Entrepreneurial Mindsets

I come from a family of 7 girls and one boy. My father started a heavy equipment construction business which he passed on to his only son. Go figure! However, I also got something just as valuable, I was passed down the “Entrepreneurial Mindset”. “Transgenerational” entrepreneurship (Habbershon, 2005), defines “as all the practices favoring the transmission of the spirit of enterprising from one generation to the next.” While we often talk of ‘Family Entrepreneurship’ we typically think of the family business being passed down from one generation to another. Transgenerational Entrepreneurship includes the reference to another type of legacy; passing on the mindset, the capabilities, the example, the desire for innovation, independence and wealth creation.

The Atlantic Region is not known for its extremely vibrant entrepreneurial culture however, Gordon Pitts, a Family Business expert, in his book “The Codfathers” writes, “the best family-owned companies turned out to be in the Maritimes and Newfoundland”. I guess we are more than an ‘economic backwater’ in the eyes of some. The McCain and Irving family dynasties are well known examples of this but growing Transgenerational Entrepreneurship is more of what this region needs.

Studies suggest entrepreneurs are not natural born but more so a product of exposure. Dr. Takeru Ohe has reported that new businesses are founded more often:

- By children of independent business owners
- By people who have been introduced to others who have started or significantly grown a business.

Furthermore, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, of Babson College reports that a staggering 87% of private financing for startup businesses comes from relatives and friends of the entrepreneur.

So now I have 4 children myself. The oldest lives in Hong Kong part time and Macau the rest of the time as he grows his low cost airlines business that shuffles gamblers back and forth to the new Las Vegas of the East. Yes, Mom, Dad and Grandma put up equity. Our three younger children also have their eye on the prize. They scheme about visiting their older brother, getting the ‘on the ground’ view of his operation and perhaps a bit of time under his wing to learn more up to date venturing tips and the global economy. When they are home, we hear about their latest ‘Big ideas’ and start up possibilities knowing they are practicing for the bigger pitch some day to come in the next not too distant future. Perhaps their older brother will invest as well.

What is the business jargon in your home? Is it pro or con entrepreneurship? What are the views expressed across your dinner table on risk, on failure, on career stability vs. career independence or resiliency? Fostering entrepreneurship starts in the home and transgenerational entrepreneurship starts with a single generation but knowingly is nurtured and sustained to develop social and economic value creation ambitions across future generations.

We all want to “invest in our children’s future” but how literally do you take that responsibility?

~ Linda, TME Chair

Posted on October 22, 2007 3:13 PM | Permalink