what is the difference between entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship? Follow

The term intrapreneurship was first coined in the 1980s. Though the term has existed in the business world for decades now, there still seems to be a bit of confusion regarding the meaning of the term. Many of you may assume both an entrepreneur and an intrapreneur have the same responsibilities. This may be true to a certain extent as they tend to share some similarities. But on the large, both entrepreneur and intrapreneur are different from each other.

The Difference Between An Entrepreneur And An Intrapreneur

Both the positions may share some similarities with each other but then at the same time they are also different from each other.

• By entrepreneur we mean, an individual who sets up his own business. It is his idea or concept that he/she shapes into a business whereas an intrapreneur is an individual, who is an employee of a particular organization who is in charge of making important decisions related to innovations in services and products, processes, etc.

• An entrepreneur is independent when it comes to operations. He doesn’t have to follow orders from others. He is the boss of the company, and the company is run based on his orders. On the other hand, an intrapreneur is dependent on the entrepreneur of the company. He has to follow the orders of his boss. Also, he is expected to work under defined rules and regulations as set by the entrepreneur himself.

• The core objective of an entrepreneur is to innovate something new. He aims to come up with something new which has a socio-economic value. But the task of an intrapreneur is to boost the market and the competitive strength of the company.

• An entrepreneur is known to raise funds for his business. He is the one who manages the capital requirement of his business whereas an intrapreneur doesn’t have to be bothered by the capital requirements of the company. He is a salaried employee who works according to his boss.

• It’s the entrepreneur who has to bear the complete risk involved in his business. The business is owned by him and therefore, taking the risk for his business is his responsibility. On the other hand, an intrapreneur doesn’t have to bear such risks. Rather he is known to risk others money.

You must have gone through the terms entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship many times. Though both of these terms are almost similar, there are great differences between the two. Entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship both are related to the same field. Here are the basic differences between the two.

1. The main difference between entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship lies in its definition. When we speak about entrepreneurship, it means an individual and independently owned business where the entrepreneur himself take the leadership to control the organization or the company. On the other hand, intrapreneurship is where a person is an employee of an organization and serves it to reach the company goals.

2. In entrepreneurship, the owner spends and allows the respective amount of money to develop and grow the organization. But when it comes to intrapreneurship, the employees are hired and paid according to their respective job positions.  

3. Entrepreneurship runs with the idea and money of the entrepreneur himself. The intrapreneurship function is to follow, innovate, and find out new ideas to make the dream of entrepreneurship come true.

4. An entrepreneur controls and uses his resources or find out for the resources to get resources. On the other hand, the intrapreneurship uses the organization's resources and needs to record the full budget for the actual documentation for the future. 

5. An entrepreneur is responsible for the actual growth and creation of new projects, acceptance, hiring policies, remuneration, and everything. Fundraising is one of the main activities of the entrepreneur. In the case of intrapreneurship, the individuals are responsible for following the policies and terms of the agreement made by the company. The employees are not directly responsible for collecting funds for the company.