Decoding the Difference Between Entrepreneur and Entrepreneurship

The terms Entrepreneur and Entrepreneurship may seem similar, but they are not. Both of them represent entirely different aspects of business creation. This distinction is crucial for aspiring founders, business students and future leaders looking to join or transform a family business. This blog breaks down both concepts, explains their differences with real-world examples and reveals how to build your entrepreneurial foundation the right way.

An entrepreneur is a person who builds and runs a business. You can think of a driving force that brings new ideas to life by taking risks and making impossible things happen.

Entrepreneurs innately carry some special qualities like not giving up easily, thinking differently and being brave enough to try new things. It could be anyone starting a new app or a young person taking over their family business and making it better.

Entrepreneurship is often explained as the process of creating and running a business, but that definition feels a bit too neat. It’s really less about who you are and more about what you actually do when an idea starts to feel risky and real. You don’t just have a business, but also struggle with building one.

The process itself isn’t simple or smooth. It usually begins with spotting an opportunity, then moves into researching the market and writing a business plan, which many people underestimate. After that comes raising money, hiring the right people and trying to grow without making costly mistakes. These steps can be learned, but learning them isn’t always comfortable.

Some people describe entrepreneurship like a roadmap, but roadmaps don’t show stress, doubt or wrong turns. Business schools try to teach this process through case studies and projects and while that helps, it doesn’t magically make things easy. The idea that entrepreneurs are “born, not made” is overrated. With enough effort and proper study, most people can learn entrepreneurship, even if they don’t feel cut out for it at the beginning.

Let’s look at the main differences between these two terms:

The difference between an entrepreneur and a business is simple. A business is the company itself, while an entrepreneur is the person who creates it.

Let’s see some real examples to make this clearer:

These examples show that you need both a person with vision (an entrepreneur) and a smart process (entrepreneurship) to succeed.

Many people confuse entrepreneurs with intrapreneurs. Have a look at how they’re different:

The difference between an entrepreneur and an intrapreneur is mainly where they work and who takes the risk.

While some people are naturally good at business, the skills to build successful companies can be learned. That’s where good education helps. Mahindra University offers a BBA Entrepreneurship & Family Business programme perfect for future business leaders.

This programme helps you develop both the entrepreneur mindset and entrepreneurship skills:

• Practical Skills: You learn real business tools and strategies, not just theory. The programme focuses on skills you’ll actually use.
• Real Experience: You work on actual projects, meet successful business people and solve real problems. This helps you see opportunities others miss.
• Theory Meets Practice: You study business cases, build business models and get guidance from experienced entrepreneurs who’ve done it before.
• Family Business Focus: Special attention to challenges in family companies, like planning succession and mixing traditional values with modern ideas.

The BBA Entrepreneurship & Family Business programme at Mahindra University prepares you to step into the world of entrepreneurship, both as an independent entrepreneur or a business professional.

Many people believe that the terms “entrepreneur” and “entrepreneurship” are similar, but there is a thin line that actually needs to be understood. An entrepreneur is a person who establishes a business from scratch and on the other hand, the process of building those businesses is known as entrepreneurship. If you wish for success, you should know the difference between them.

While some people naturally think like entrepreneurs, others simply can’t, but it can be learned through an entrepreneurship programme. Also, if you are planning to lead your family business in the future, understanding this difference is really useful.

• What is the difference between entrepreneur and entrepreneurship?
  An entrepreneur is the person who starts a business. Entrepreneurship is the process of creating and running a business. Think of it as: an entrepreneur is equal to “who,” as in who will take the initiative and entrepreneurship becomes the “how”.
• What are the examples of an entrepreneur and entrepreneurship?
  Entrepreneur: Falguni Nayar, who founded Nykaa. Entrepreneurship: The entire process she followed by researching the market, building the website, getting funding and growing Nykaa into a big company.
• Are business and entrepreneurship the same thing?
  A business is the company or shop itself. An entrepreneur is the person who creates and runs it. Business is the result and the entrepreneur is the creator.
• What is the difference between an entrepreneur and a manager?
  Entrepreneurs create new businesses and take risks. Managers run existing businesses and follow set processes. Entrepreneurs innovate, managers optimise. One builds, the other maintains.
• How can I learn entrepreneurship formally?
  You can join specialised college programmes that teach business skills systematically. Programmes like BBA Entrepreneurship & Family Business at Mahindra University combine theory with real projects, mentorship and practical experience to prepare you properly.