Valleywag
What is a "wantrepreneur"? My obscurantist boss has been tossing the term around for the last week or so as if we've all heard it before, but I've been too afraid to ask him. So here's what I've gathered: Short for "wannabe entrepreneur," "wantrepreneur" describes one who hopes to hop on a bandwagon and ride to glory, instead of carrying one's own ideas to success through actual effort. It's best depicted in the image above, a "help wanted" sign posted on a newspaper box on University Ave. in Palo Alto. But why seek out wantrepreneurs? They surround successful types like flies at every party I've gone to. (Photo by Gabe Rivera)
"Wantrepreneur"
What is a "wantrepreneur"? My obscurantist boss has been tossing the term around for the last week or so as if we've all heard it before, but I've been too afraid to ask him. So here's what I've gathered: Short for "wannabe entrepreneur," "wantrepreneur" describes one who hopes to hop on a bandwagon and ride to glory, instead of carrying one's own ideas to success through actual effort. It's best depicted in the image above, a "help wanted" sign posted on a newspaper box on University Ave. in Palo Alto. But why seek out wantrepreneurs? They surround successful types like flies at every party I've gone to. (Photo by Gabe Rivera)
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5:45 PM on Fri Oct 26 2007
By Megan McCarthy
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2 comments
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oren michels is the classic wantrepreneur. met him in HI, the poster boy.
A wantrepreneur is, as you say, a wannabe entrepreneur. However, the term wasn't supposed to be derogatory, as you've used it here. It was simply someone who wanted to start a business, but hadn't yet in any tangible way.
At least that's the definition of the term as I meant it when I started using the word more than 15 years ago. I also used it as a part of my first blog back around 2003. At the time, I hadn't ever heard the term before and there was no mention of it online (except for my blog, which I no longer publish). Since then, the term has been used quite a bit.
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