Toronto Met ENTREPRENEUR INSTITUTE
Unleashing Entrepreneurial Action
A Word From Dr. Steven A. Gedeon
Chair, Toronto Met Entrepreneur Institute
Faculty Advisor, Enactus TMU
Associate Professor, Ted Rogers School of Management, Entrepreneurship & Strategy,
Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto Canada
Entrepreneurs drive the economy and are foundational to progress and prosperity. In addition to starting new ventures, individuals with an entrepreneurial mindset create value within companies, non-profit organizations, governments, communities, society at large and within their own lives. They are independent and engaged citizens, resourceful and agile in the face of uncertainty and motivated changemakers who co-create a more positive future.
Entrepreneurship is about far more than just starting a new business. It involves being alert to what IS and spotting opportunities for what MIGHT or OUGHT to be. It involves proactively bringing about this positive change by TAKING ACTION! It’s about overcoming obstacles or inertia and creating value through experimentation, iteration and continuous LEARNING.
Leveraging one of the largest entrepreneurship programs in the world, TMEI is a global leader in entrepreneurship education and co-curricular student engagement.
What is Entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship involves understanding what IS by being curious about not only the world around you, such as potential customers, but also yourself, and your values, beliefs and interests. It involves envisioning what MIGHT or OUGHT to BE by imagining a better product, a better career, a better community, or a better life. Spotting opportunities to add value to your life seldom happens by chance – it takes proactive analysis, brainstorming, prototyping and experimentation. Learning also doesn’t happen automatically – it takes a proactive process of self-reflection and feedback.
This holistic philosophy of entrepreneurship is fundamental to the human spirit! It’s not just a business discipline, but a different way of seeing, thinking and acting. It’s that spark that enabled humanity to harness fire, steam, sunlight and the atom as well as create social systems to enhance human welfare, dignity and prosperity. To create something new by spotting opportunities for a better future – to innovate and improve.
Four Primary Domains of Entrepreneurship
Starting a New Business
This is the traditional form of entrepreneurship normally taught in most universities. These new business entities stimulate the economy and account for virtually 100% of all new job growth in modern economies. This is the form of entrepreneurship mostly assumed by the media and popular press. It can also include starting a side hustle or being self-employed.
Intrapreneurship
Creating entrepreneurial value within an existing venture. Also termed Innovation, Corporate Entrepreneurship or Employee Entrepreneurship. Although a new corporate entity is not created and risk to the entrepreneur may be lower with no ownership, the entrepreneurial processes, skills, and attitudes are virtually identical.
Social Entrepreneurship
Creating primarily social or other forms of non-economic values. Also termed social innovation, change-making or active citizenry. This can involve community-building, starting a new entity (for-profit or non-profit) or creating change within an existing community, venture or institution.
Personal Empowerment
Creating entrepreneurial values for yourself through personal growth, career and life design. This involves using positive psychology and self-leadership including self-awareness, self-direction, self-reflection, self-compassion, self-talk, self-motivation, self-efficacy, authentic self-esteem, time management, goal-setting and habit formation. Often this form of personal entrepreneurship takes place before the other forms – to change the world you first have to change yourself.
Best practices in entrepreneurship program design and co-curricular experiential learning for Entrepreneurship Educators
The Toronto Met Entrepreneur Institute (TMEI) leverages Canada’s largest business school and entrepreneurship program to provide educational thought leadership, spread a culture of entrepreneurship and empower those in need. Our goal is to unleash and support a values-driven culture of innovation, prosperity and achievement by igniting and supporting a passion for entrepreneurship among students and educators. TMEI is a global leader in entrepreneurship education and sustainable co-curricular student engagement. It inspires and supports students and educators as they engage in transformative co-curricular projects.
Please check out our free Open Educational Resources (OER) like "Building an Entrepreneurial Mindset" which uses interactive Articulate Storyline SCORM-compliant learning objects. We also provide information to Entrepreneurship Educators (EEs) related to How to Design a Course, How to Design a Program, How to Teach Entrepreneurship and How to Work with Angels.
Please let us know if you would like any support for using any of our OER materials in your courses.
Want to learn more?
Download our information package to learn more about the Toronto Met Entrepreneur Institute (Please note that our university has changed name to Toronto Metropolitan University and so REI has changed its name and will be changing its domain name).
Toronto Met Entrepreneur Institute
575 Bay Street (entrance at 55 Dundas West)
Room TRS 1-007
Toronto, ON M5G 2C5
Email us at [email protected]