Strategy & Leadership

An entrepreneur's perspective

February 15, 2018

Global

February 15, 2018

Global
Josselyn Simpson

Contributor

Josselyn has worked in the thought leadership and quantitative research team of the Economist Intelligence Unit for more than 15 years. She is an expert in creating engaging content for C-level and other senior executives. Among her areas of interest are organisation, governance, and the effects of technology on the workplace. She was also a Senior Campaign Manager at Booz & Company and a Senior Editor at McKinsey & Company. Through those roles she developed significant expertise in global thought leadership development and programme management. She began her career at The New Yorker. She is based in New York and holds an undergraduate degree with honors from Harvard College.

Contact

Successful young entrepreneurial innovators have achieved something akin to rockstar status. They grace magazine covers and keynote global conferences, inspiring burgeoning start-ups and Fortune 50 companies alike.

Collectively, young entrepreneurs are innovative by nature and their thinking is an important source of growth and job creation across the world. Today, with digital tools in hand, leaders are better positioned to expand their businesses across borders, seize niche opportunities and shape the global economic future.
 
Yet, most of today’s young entrepreneurs want more than status and a global corporate footprint. Their ideas of success arise from powerful social, political and economic convictions.
 
To find out what really makes young innovators tick, The Economist Intelligence Unit, sponsored by FedEx, surveyed more than 500 of these young entrepreneurs around the globe about their motivations, ideals and priorities. Our survey respondents were between 25 and 50 years of age and all founders, owners or partners of firms with fewer than 500 employees. They are living in North America, Europe, Middle East, India and Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. We surveyed them on matters of globalization, technology and social values.
 
We then compared their views with a similar survey of the general public in the same regions. Side by side, these surveys enabled us to differentiate the outlooks of today’s young and innovative entrepreneurs. Our surveys identified four key mindsets that guide young entrepreneurs: leading with passion; thinking globally; embracing social responsibility; and banking on connectivity. 

Enjoy in-depth insights and expert analysis - subscribe to our Perspectives newsletter, delivered every week