The annual Hiscox / Royal Institution debate: What is the DNA of an Entrepreneur?


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Authored by Alan Thomas.
1 min read
DNA
Are entrepreneurs born or made? Can entrepreneurial skills be taught? And how exactly do you define an entrepreneur? These were topics that our panel and the audience wrestled with at our recent debate at the Royal Institution (RI) entitled, What is the DNA of an Entrepreneur?

Each year, we produce a DNA of an Entrepreneur report – a study of the attitudes, hopes, fears and desires of small businesses across Western Europe and the United States – while our debate at the RI explores some of the themes from this report in greater depth as we start to look ahead to 2014’s study.

This year, our panel considering these weighty questions around small businesses and entrepreneurship included CEO of the Centre for Entrepreneurs Luke Johnson, CEO of Pall-Ex Hilary Devey CBE and Andrew Green from Gallup, who have conducted their own study into the make-up of entrepreneurs.

Hosted by broadcaster and science writer Vivienne Parry OBE, the debate was long and lively and you can get a flavour of the event from the video below.

 
Hiscox Video shape

You can also watch our extended interviews with Luke and Andrew on our YouTube channel (external link) and get involved with the issues raised in both the report and the debate via Twitter using the hashtag #bornormade.

Disclaimer:
At Hiscox, we want to help your small business thrive. Our blog has many articles you may find relevant and useful as your business grows. But these articles aren’t professional advice. So, to find out more on a subject we cover here, please seek professional assistance.

Alan Thomas

Alan Thomas is a small business expert at Hiscox, advising technology and media SMEs. He says: “Entrepreneurs fascinate me because they bring ideas to life. I work with them every day so I hear a lot about the challenges they face and I want to share that knowledge to help other SMEs succeed.”