The Unexpected Entrepreneur
Many of your favourite brands are businesses run by people who don’t identify as entrepreneurs or even business owners.
They’re designers, team leaders, engineers, builders or whatever their trade may be.
We call these people unexpected entrepreneurs.
“An unexpected entrepreneur is an expert in their field who has ambitious goals to innovate in their sector and push boundaries, which has, in turn, become their means for living through their own unique business. ”
Their goal wasn’t to build a business but to fill a need in a sector they are passionate about.
James Dyson at heart is an engineer.
He still attends engineering meetings, thinks like an engineer, and is focused on keeping engineering at the heart of what Dyson is known for.
Famously, over a four-year period, James Dyson made 5,127 prototypes of his vacuum cleaner that would go on to sell millions of units.
He is, however, also an entrepreneur.
He is the founder of a 30-year-old business that has revenue in excess of £6 billion.
It would be dishonest to not call James Dyson an entrepreneur, however, an unexpected entrepreneur is perhaps more appropriate.
Unexpected entrepreneurs are often ambitious, eager and willing to take risks to pursue their dreams, they are relentless in seeing their passion/sector/niche pushed forward.
Passionate about their fields, these entrepreneurs excel in collaboration, being able to recognise the shortcomings in their experience and what is required to make a real impact in their sector.
At Steadfast Collective, we love working with unexpected entrepreneurs.
These talented people whose persistent goal of creating a better product or service allows them to create solutions to problems that perhaps aren’t mainstream or expected. They always bring something fresh to the table.
Unexpected entrepreneurs haven’t grown up through business school, or read all the entrepreneurial books; they don’t use business-speak or jargon, nor did they necessarily ever imagine being in the role they now sit.
And these things often make working with them exciting and inspiring.
More Articles
Unexpected Entrepreneur spotlight: Howard Schultz
Have you heard about Summit, our new community for Unexpected Entrepreneurs? Summit is the new home of inspiration for Unexpected Entrepreneurs looking to refine their idea or grow their businesses to the next level.
Unexpected Entrepreneurs - Patagonia founder
Yvon Chouinard is the founder of the well-known outdoor brand Patagonia. However, being the founder of a huge business is never something he set out to do - it was an unexpected venture.
The Missing Ps of Marketing Strategy
Growth. As founders we chase it, especially in the early days. Each month and quarter is defined by financial growth. No matter your product or service, saleability and growth is crucial.
