Fellow blogger and director of operations for Grasshopper New Media Ben Yoskovitz is working on yet another TOP SECRET project and has solicited responses from the online entrepreneurial community for the answer to this question:

What Is An Entrepreneur?

The answers will presumably be used in some fashion in the new project which, according to Ben, will be a spin-off of his Instigator Blog but may have a more interactive quality.

Anyway, here's my response with links provided:

Thinking about the answer to this question, I came across some thoughts attributed to French economist Jean-Baptiste Say in an article from the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty. (The link is here). Say described the entrepreneur as the "master-agent" who he said is "necessary for the setting in motion of every class of industry whatever; that is to say, the application of acquired knowledge to the creation of a product for human consumption." The article made me reflect on the evolution of my own thoughts on entrepreneurship. Those thoughts began with a traditional concept reinforced by modern preconceptions that money is necessary to get into business and would thus make the entrepreneur in charge of raising it. But a newer concept has, for me, emerged through my increased involvement in bootstrap business start-up. I would today define an entrepreneur as the individual responsible for starting a business venture by any means necessary. No funding is needed since capital is only one part of the equation. But knowledge is paramount in the creation of value. To paraphrase bootstrap guru Greg Gianforte, entrepreneurs make money, they don't spend it. (That's my wife's job!)

I'd like to see some other definitions from out there in bootstrapping land and will forward them to Ben who has promised generous links for contributions he uses. Please respond in the "Comments" section below or via e-mail.