Technology-based entrepreneurship is not a new concept. Ever since the advent and advancement of computer technology in the 1990s, more and more entrepreneurs have integrated the use of technology in their ventures. However, it has not been given that much traction by Asian countries, including the Philippines, years after industries and companies located in America and Europe (Milton-Smith, 2003). Milton-Smith (2003) identified a possible reason to this lag in paradigm shift to the idea that technology projects are seen as “excessively long-term, extremely high risk and too capital intensive”.

     At present, however, technopreneurship is considered as an “international currency” that provides viability to global economies. It is now seen as an important facet of countries’ economies, especially in times where working forces are limited and industries are hampered due to circumstances. Technopreneurship is now seen as a dynamic agent for economic growth.

The following highlights the benefits and functions of technopreneurship that solidifies its importance in the modern world:

• Employment creation - Technopreneurs create employment for themselves and other people. They are employers and, hence, assist in solving or alleviating the unemployment problem in a country.

  • Local Resource utilization – Economies rely on the value of their resources and products. Through technopreneurship, local resources that are not yet tapped or under-utilized may be given wider exposure and utilization, thus increasing their value.

  • Decentralization and diversification of business - Technopreneurs are able to identify business opportunities and locate these businesses in suitable areas, including rural areas. This leads to more relevant and contextualized enterprises and decreasing monopolies in the market.

  • Promotion of technology - By being creative, technopreneurs are able to contribute to the utilization and development of technology, thus cultivating innovative mindsets and practices in the society.

  • Capital formation – It increases capital formation and investment. Due to its innovative nature, technopreneurship allow for countries to stock up on capital goods that might be used for future production of goods and services. Moreover, this stocked capital may be used to make more money, thus making them as investments.

  • Promotion of entrepreneurial culture - By projecting successful images, technopreneurs become models than can be copied by young people. The cultivation of an entrepreneurial culture, especially among the youth, will most likely lead to the creation of more relevant and innovative enterprises in the country.

  • Acquire New Knowledge 1.3: Entrepreneurship vs. Technopreneurship

    Apart from the primary platform, which is technology, how else is technopreneurship different from entrepreneurship? Another key difference is on the process that these enterprises go through. Entrepreneurship normally follows this process:

     

    On the other hand, the process involved in technopreneurship will most likely follow this pattern:

     

    Comparing and contrasting these two illustrations, we can come up with the following generalizations in terms of the differences of entrepreneurship and technopreneurship (Balachandran, 2018): Identification vs. Creation. Entrepreneurs start their business ventures by looking into the existing goods and services and using their data to plan their business. On the other hand, technopreneurs often start with just an “idea” in order to do things differently. Individual vs. Team. The entrepreneurial process may be primarily accomplished by an individual. That is why, the success of traditional businesses is often attributed to just one person. Locally, that is why are familiar with the names of Sy, Ayala, Gokongwei, and others. Technopreneurial enterprises are often started by a core team of people. This team is most likely comprised of people with varying personal and business skills. If we’re using applications like Grab or FoodPanda, we often receive notifications from them that is signed “from the Grab/FoodPanda team”. This shows a distinctive collaborative feature of technopreneurship when compared to entrepreneurship. This can also be applied to the fact that most traditional enterprises can stand alone whereas technological ventures need serious networking. Money vs. Affirmation. Most entrepreneurs would not start a business if there is no guarantee of profit. By assessing their opportunities first, they will be able to identify the most viable locations, products, and services for their target clientele. They can map out if and how they will proceed, through their data. On the other hand, most technopreneurs have to work, even without pay, before their ideas can gain commercial attention and patronage. To sustain their operations, technopreneurs have to be in a constant lookout for and pitch their ideas to potential investors. Product to Customer vs. Customer to Product. Both entrepreneurs and technopreneurs need the feedback of their respective clientele in order to make their brand relevant. However, entrepreneurs have already designed their products and services prior to opening them to their customers. When compared to similar brands, these products only vary in certain elements like affordability and range. Technopreneurs, on the other hand, work backwards. They start with customer experience and innovate their technology until such time that the desired experience is achieved. Just like teachers, they “start with the end in mind”.cquire New Knowledge 1.4: Types of Entrepreneurship      Because technopreneurship is considered as a subset of entrepreneurship, it is still best that we understand the fundamental concepts of entrepreneurship and relate it to our focus. Enterprises can come in many forms and sizes. These businesses are often categorized as to what type of entrepreneurship they belong to.    The following are the four main types of entrepreneurship (Hayes, 2021): Small Business Entrepreneurship. The businesses under this category are often those who are family-owned and/or managed locally. Normally, profits from these single-location businesses are for the sake of the owner’s living expenses. Small-business entrepreneurs usually invest or use their own money to start and maintain the operation of their enterprise. They do not have outside investors and do not branch out. Examples of these would be your local grocery or sari-sari stores, salons or barbershops, carinderias, and many others. Scalable Startup. Scalable-startup entrepreneurs usually start with an innovative idea and a great vision. They attract investors who think and encourage people who think out of the box. The research focuses on a scalable business and experimental models, so, they hire the best and the brightest employees. They require more venture capital to fuel and back their project or business. Take for example, CDR-King. This company started as the primary store for affordable recordable CDs and DVDs before branching out to other gadgets and accessories. Large Company. These huge companies have defined life-cycle. Most of these companies grow and sustain by offering new and innovative products that revolve around their main products. This leads to the creation of a new business division within their existing framework. The best example here is SM. SM started as a store that sell shoes. Then, it grew to include other clothing essentials before becoming a mall. After that, the company tapped into other fields such as real estate, banking, and even tourism. Social Entrepreneurship. The goal of social entrepreneurship is to create a benefit to society and humankind. They focus on helping communities or the environment through their products and services. They are not driven by profits but rather by helping the world around them. Some examples of social enterprises here in the Philippines is Virtualahan, a virtual school for people with disabilities, ANTHILL, a community-centered business model focusing on indigenous communities, Good Food Co., which promotes an alternative food system based on ethical and ecological farming.        Dorf & Byers (2006) also classified enterprises as incremental, imitative, rent-seeking, and innovative. Incremental businesses are those that are considered as modest in novelty and routinary. Basically, these businesses are newly-built or established but are just variations of existing enterprises. Imitative businesses are those that follow the same business model as others. The best examples of these would be branches of a large company and franchises of a certain brand. Rent-seeking businesses are those that utilize standards, regulations and laws to share in the value of the enterprise. For example, companies that have trademark products can collaborate with other companies but with a fee. For example, any company that uses the Coca-Cola brand, including its products and other trademarked items, will have to pay royalties. So, these businesses often include licensing of patented ideas, products or trade secrets. Lastly, innovative businesses are those that create or develop certain products that are not yet available in the market.