Top 10 Types of Entrepreneurs –

Explained!
Entrepreneurs are classified into different types based on different
classifications as mentioned below:

Based on the Type of Business:

1. Trading Entrepreneur:
As the name itself suggests, the trading entrepreneur undertake the
trading activities. They procure the finished products from the
manufacturers and sell these to the customers directly or through a
retailer. These serve as the middlemen as wholesalers, dealers, and
retailers between the manufacturers and customers.

2. Manufacturing Entrepreneur:
The manufacturing entrepreneurs manufacture products. They
identify the needs of the customers and, then, explore the resources
and technology to be used to manufacture the products to satisfy the
customers’ needs. In other words, the manufacturing entrepreneurs
convert raw materials into finished products.

3. Agricultural Entrepreneur:
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The entrepreneurs who undertake agricultural pursuits are called

agricultural entrepreneurs. They cover a wide spectrum of agricultural
activities like cultivation, marketing of agricultural produce, irrigation,
mechanization, and technology.
Based on the Use of Technology:
1. Technical Entrepreneur:
The entrepreneurs who establish and run science and technology-
based industries are called ‘technical entrepreneurs.’ Speaking
alternatively, these are the entrepreneurs who make use of science and
technology in their enterprises. Expectedly, they use new and
innovative methods of production in their enterprises.

2. Non-Technical Entrepreneur:
Based on the use of technology, the entrepreneurs who are not
technical entrepreneurs are non-technical entrepreneurs. The forte of
their enterprises is not science and technology. They are concerned
with the use of alternative and imitative methods of marketing and
distribution strategies to make their business survive and thrive in the
competitive market.

Based on Ownership:
1. Private Entrepreneur:
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A private entrepreneur is one who as an individual sets up a business

enterprise. He / she it’s the sole owner of the enterprise and bears the
entire risk involved in it.

2. State Entrepreneur:
When the trading or industrial venture is undertaken by the State or
the Government, it is called ‘state entrepreneur.’

3. Joint Entrepreneurs:
When a private entrepreneur and the Government jointly run a
business enterprise, it is called ‘joint entrepreneurs.’

Based on Gender:
1. Men Entrepreneurs:
When business enterprises are owned, managed, and controlled by
men, these are called ‘men entrepreneurs.’

2. Women Entrepreneurs:
Women entrepreneurs are defined as the enterprises owned and
controlled by a woman or women having a minimum financial interest
of 51 per cent of the capital and giving at least 51 per cent of
employment generated in the enterprises to women.

Based on the Size of Enterprise:

1. Small-Scale Entrepreneur:
An entrepreneur who has made investment in plant and machinery up
to Rs 1.00 crore is called ‘small-scale entrepreneur.’

2. Medium-Scale Entrepreneur:
The entrepreneur who has made investment in plant and machinery
above Rs 1.00 crore but below Rs 5.00 crore is called ‘medium-scale
entrepreneur.’

3. Large-Scale entrepreneur:
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The entrepreneur who has made investment in plant and machinery

more than Rs 5.00 crore is called ‘large-scale entrepreneur.’

Based on Clarence Danhof Classification:

 Clarence Danhof (1949), on the basis of his study of the American
Agriculture, classified entrepreneurs in the manner that at the initial
stage of economic development, entrepreneurs have less initiative and
drive and as economic development proceeds, they become more
innovating and enthusiastic.

Based on this, he classified entrepreneurs into four types:

These are discussed in seriatim:
1. Innovating Entrepreneurs:
Innovating entrepreneurs are one who introduce new goods,
inaugurate new method of production, discover new market and
reorganize the enterprise. It is important to note that such
entrepreneurs can work only when a certain level of development is
already achieved, and people look forward to change and
improvement.

 Example: #1-Andrew Rose:

 Andrew Rose does it all. He has helped bring success to car insurance companies like
Progressive, Countrywide, Elephant, and now to Admiral Group’s latest high growth startup,
Compare.com. It is a pleasure working with this guy. He’s so full of energy and makes it a
point to get to know everyone that works here. He stays highly involved with each
department and is open with everyone about company financials and growth. He makes it
fun to work here by creating exciting events like office Olympics, 10k fun runs, optional
volunteer time off, thirsty Thursday social times every Thursday, and a lively annual awards
party. We all know that Andrew will continue to help this business grow within such a
competitive landscape as the insurance industry.. ...
 #2- Jeff Hoffman. : My favorite innovative entrepreneur and mentor is Jeff Hoffman,
founder of Priceline among a slew of other raging successes! Despite his Titan-sized
accomplishment, he is very down to earth and relatable. It is almost accepted as fact that
once you’ve achieved a certain level of success, you must be a total dick! Only the calloused
people willing to climb over everyone at any costs will succeed in the world of business,
right? Wrong! Jeff Hoffman cuts through all that BS. He’s sets the standard for what
entrepreneurs should strive to achieve. He is proof that you can still be hugely successful
and still be a nice guy. He sealed his spot in my mind as a role model when he recounted a
 story of when someone asked him, “How do I get my employees to think I care about
them?” To which he responded, “Have you ever considered actually caring about them?”. ...
 #3- Elon Musk. : Well, simply because the man’s a legend. He taught himself all about
space rockets and engineering. When he was asked, how he did it, his simple reply was that
he read books! He runs several companies which is a testimony to the mad amount of work
that he puts in daily. Apart from that, he is committed to doing everything to make the
impossible, possible; from sending humans to Mars, to making space travel affordable, he
runs projects which has been considered impossible for all so long. His company Tesla, has
made and marketed electric cars so well, despite a huge number of people claiming that
electric cars would fail. The man is an icon and inspiration to many. It just goes to show how
a normal college grad, can suddenly turn around and make such a huge impact on the
world. And what’s more, Elon Musk isn’t done yet. He has plans to make VTOL aircrafts and
is carrying out work for making a high-speed underground transportation system. And apart
from all that, he has been silently carrying out work on his Hyperloop project

2. Imitative Entrepreneurs:
These are characterized by readiness to adopt successful innovations
inaugurated by innovating entrepreneurs. Imitative entrepreneurs do
not innovate the changes themselves, they only imitate techniques and
technology innovated by others. Such types of entrepreneurs are
particularly suitable for the underdeveloped regions for bringing a
mushroom drive of imitation of new combinations of factors of
production already available in developed regions.

MOA ARENA:

3. Fabian Entrepreneurs:
Fabian entrepreneurs are characterized by very great caution and
skepticism in experimenting any change in their enterprises. They
imitate only when it becomes perfectly clear that failure to do so would
result in a loss of the relative position in the enterprise.

4. Drone Entrepreneurs:
These are characterized by a refusal to adopt opportunities to make
changes in production formulae even at the cost of severely reduced
returns relative to other like producers. Such entrepreneurs may even
suffer from losses but they are not ready to make changes in their
existing production methods.

Example: There is a tobacco making industry which is still making tobaccos

entirely by hand. Not willing to use the machines.

Following are some more types of entrepreneurs listed by

some other behavioral scientists:
1. Solo Operators:
These are the entrepreneurs who essentially work alone and, if needed
at all, employ a few employees. In the beginning, most of the
entrepreneurs start their enterprises like them.

2. Active Partners:
Active partners are those entrepreneurs who start/ carry on an
enterprise as a joint venture. It is important that all of them actively
participate in the operations of the business. Entrepreneurs who only
contribute funds to the enterprise but do not actively participate in
business activity are called simply ‘partners’.

3. Inventors:
Such entrepreneurs with their competence and inventiveness invent
new products. Their basic interest lies in research and innovative
activities.
4. Challengers:
These are the entrepreneurs who plunge into industry because of the
challenges it presents. When one challenge seems to be met, they
begin to look for new challenges.

5. Buyers:
These are those entrepreneurs who do not like to bear much risk.
Hence, in order to reduce risk involved in setting up a new enterprise,
they like to buy the ongoing one.

6. Life-Timers:
These entrepreneurs take business as an integral part to their life.
Usually, the family enterprise and businesses which mainly depend on
exercise of personal skill fall in this type/category of entrepreneurs.
Types of Entrepreneurs
The Innovator
With a strong personal drive, these are the leaders. Innovation motivates them
strongly, but a major incentive for this group is the idea of creating a legacy and
doing things the other way.

Characteristics of Innovators
 They constantly look for patterns.
 They’re brilliantly lazy.
 They’re obsessive note-takers.
 They Aim for perfection but practice progress
 They embrace fear

Example of Innovators
 Bill Gates: co-founder of the Microsoft Corporation
 Larry Page: co-founder and chief executive officer of Google’s parent
company, Alphabet Inc.

The Hustler
The enthusiastic ones, these entrepreneurs don’t wait for opportunities to fall in
their lap. They know the importance of small things and make use of them
effectively and efficiently. They are focused dreamers and work hard to achieve
it.

Characteristics of Hustlers
 They know the importance of networking.
 They are laser focused
 They dream ridiculously big.
 They aren’t afraid to take a risk.
 Hustlers eliminate all distractions.
 Hustlers create their own opportunities.

Example of the Hustlers

 Zig Ziglar: American author, salesman, and motivational speaker.
 Mary Kay Ash: American businesswoman and founder of Mary Kay
Cosmetics, Inc.
The Imitator
These entrepreneurs try to play safe by copying a successful or going to be a
successful business model. They iterate a certain feature or innovation in a
particular product or the business model to make it more appealing and have a
competitive edge over the current market. The greatest advantage of copycat
entrepreneurs is that they know the opportunities and shortcomings of the
business and have a proven business model to work on.

Characteristics of Imitators
 They are risk takers
 They are adamant about what they do.
 They have an ability to build upon an existing idea
 They are great researchers
 They don’t follow or do things on other people’s terms.

Examples of Imitators
 Mark Zuckerberg: co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer
ofFacebook.
 Oliver Samwer: Serial startup cloner.

The Researcher
These entrepreneurs not only believe in original ideas but also ideas which are
viable. They believe in starting a foolproof business and spend a lot of time in
choosing the right one.

Characteristics of Researchers
 These are the perfectionists
 They are the problem solvers
 They are critical thinkers
 They are the visionaries.
Examples of Researchers
 Jeff Bezos: founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Amazon.com
 Larry Ellison: co-founder, executive chairman and chief technology officer of
Oracle Corporation.
The Money Magnet
It’s a lot easier to make money when you start with money. This is what these
entrepreneurs do. They usually don’t have much know-how of the business world
and most of the work is done by the professionals appointed by them.

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Characteristics of Money Magnets

 Rich Family
 Professional team
 Personal Brand
 Easy PR

Examples of Money Magnets

 Paris Hilton: American businesswoman, socialite, television and media
personality, model, actress, singer, and DJ.
 Kim Kardashian: American reality television personality, socialite, actress,
businesswoman, and model.

The Prodigy
While others thrive on innovating and challenging the status quo, prodigies rely
on innate intelligence and instinct as well as a higher degree of emotional
stability. These entrepreneurs are blessed with inborn business sense and
instinct.
Characteristics of Prodigies
 They rely on their innate qualities
 They are born innovators
 They believe in doing the things their own way.
 They have inborn business sense.

Examples of Prodigies
 Elon Musk: American business magnate, investor, engineer, and inventor
 Steve Jobs: American entrepreneur, businessman, inventor, and industrial
designer.
The Buyer
These entrepreneurs have huge pockets and are ready to invest in any promising
venture. They might already have an experience in running a successful
business and look for more opportunities.

Characteristics of Buyers
 They act as a guide to new ventures
 Huge Pockets
 They look for original & different ideas
 They have a thirst for knowledge
 They have a great network

Examples of Buyers
 Warren Buffet: Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway
 Carl Icahn: founder and majority shareholder of Icahn Enterprises

The Solopreneur
These entrepreneurs choose to start a business on their own with no intention of
ever adding staff. They are the chief cook and the sole person responsible for the
fate of the business.
Characteristics of Solopreneurs
 They are passionate workaholics
 They are versatile as they handle every aspect of their business.
 They create their own schedule
 Their personal and corporate brand is interlinked
 They love adventure

Examples of Solopreneurs
 Neil Patel: A renowned SEO and digital marketing specialist.
 Brian Dean: founder of Backlinko.
The Short-termer
The main motive of these entrepreneurs is to create a successful business and
sell it for top dollar. They are the innovators who derive their business model
from bigger companies and add up innovation to them.

Characteristics of Short termers

 Money minded
 Innovative
 Effective communication and networking skills
 They aim for big exits

Examples of Short-termers
Jan Koum & Brian Acton: Founders of WhatsApp.

The Rebels
These are the unconventional and challenge the existing players with their
innovation and different routes. The rebels challenge the way it has always been
done and does the work that matters.

Characteristics of Rebels
 They know what’s essential
 They are very tenacious and work hard and long to achieve objectives.
 They are the risk takers
 They are the challengers

Examples of Rebels
 Evan Spiegel: co-founder and CEO of the American multinational technology
and social media company Snap Inc.
 Michael Dubin: founder of Dollar Shave Club