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Entrepreneurs are just entrepreneurs-Not Pirates or Jedis

By C Chaitanya
This week I read a really nice article Yoda visits Rodinhood and it had very good advice to entrepreneurs. Other than the advice what stuck me was the way now-a-days bloggers were comparing entrepreneurs to a lot of things.
First it was Mike Arrington comparing entrepreneurs to pirates (http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/31/are-you-a-pirate/) and now Rodinhood comparing them to Jedis.

This got me thinking a little bit and I have to say I side with Mike on this if I have to choose one. Obviously I cannot choose both as that would mean Jedis are pirates(or pirates are jedis). Gasp!. :).

Actually, I have to say I generally don't agree that entrepreneurs are pirates, as entrepreneurs create value and pirates steal value. But just for fun lets look at the similarities.

Entrepreneurs and Pirates are in it for the money and adventure. They go looking for both. They are proactive. Jedis are in it to maintain the balance of the Force. They do not go looking for anything. Only when some imbalance is created, they act. So, they are reactive.

Entrepreneurs and Pirates take risks. Jedis in general avoid risks.

Lets illustrate this with an example:

"Its raining heavily. You see a lonely lady in her 20s, very beautiful and wearing a lot of gold, waiting for a bus as there are no taxis around. Suddenly a gang of ruffians come and start pestering the lady.What do you do?"

If you are a :

Pirate: You join the gang, take the gold and use the lady then cheat the gang and go away with all the gold.

Entrepreneur: You will start thinking. Why is the lady waiting alone. What market can I create. Maybe we should have a "Call a cab facility" in this city. Or, just like 108 is there for medical emergencies, maybe we should have 109 for these kinds of emergencies. etc etc. Whether you help the lady or not will depend on the kind of person you are and will not define you as an entrepreneur.

Jedi: Beat up the bad guys. Teach them a good lesson. Wait till the bus comes. Put the lady on the bus.And then go home.

Who we are is defined by the choices we make. Not the work we do. So, though its cool to be termed as a Jedi or Pirate, the fact of the matter is I am just an entrepreneur :), and thats enough.
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