Ernst & Young releases entrepreneur of the year nominees as report says 60% of entrepreneurs come from corporates

Almost 60% of entrepreneurs start work in a corporate environment before starting their own business, with most naming their time as an employee their most important source of learning in their career, a global study by accounting giant Ernst & Young has found.

The survey covers 25 sectors and 30 countries, with most companies recording revenues of between $US10 million and $US20 billion. Starbucks chairman, president and CEO Howard Schultz is one of the respondents.

The survey of 685 entrepreneurs worldwide has found that entrepreneurial leaders may be “made rather than born”, but a large majority of the most successful embarked on their first ventures at a young age.

It also found that 10% of respondents had started their first business under the age of 20, and another 45% of respondents said they started their first start-up between the age of 20 and 29.

Thirty-one percent were aged between 30 and 39 for the first start-up, while 12% were 40 and 49. Just 2% went out on their own for the first time between the ages of 50 and 59.

“Although many entrepreneurial leaders start at a reasonably young age, the experience they gain through education and time spent in a more traditional corporate environment is vital to their future success,” the report said.

“Indeed, more than half [almost 60%] of respondents describe themselves as ‘transitioned’ entrepreneurs – in other words, they have previously spent time in traditional employment before setting out on their own.”

“Although there are notable examples of entrepreneurial leaders who left college to form hugely successful businesses, such as Bill Gates of Microsoft or Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, these are very much in the minority,” the report said.

“Among our survey respondents, some form of business experience is a vital foundation that increases the chances of future entrepreneurial success.”

Entitled Nature or nurture: Decoding the entrepreneur, the survey also identified that most respondents were “serial entrepreneurs”, with 60% founding three or more businesses. Twenty percent of respondents had started six or more, while 10% had started 10 or more companies.

“Entrepreneurial leaders who embark on more than one venture gain valuable insight and lessons into how to make a new business successful. As such, they perform a vital role in the economy and, among them, start a significant proportion of all new ventures,” the report says.

Not surprisingly, funding, people and know-how presented the biggest barriers to entrepreneurial success, E&Y said. It says the difficult funding environment lends way to entrepreneurs building “ecosystems” – networks of resources – to address the barriers.

The report also found that entrepreneurs are likely to believe that an individual’s actions and behaviour will directly affect events, E&Y says, and calls on traditional companies to pay attention to entrepreneurial methods in dealing with staff and innovation.

The survey comes as E&Y prepares for its 2011 Australian Entrepreneur of the Year. Its nominees include Fortescue Metals founder and departing chief Andrew Forrest, Gabby Leibovich – Catchoftheday.com.au, and George Calombaris of The Press Club Group.

The regional nominees are:

Central Region (SA & NT) Regional Awards Final to be held on Thursday, August 4, 2011
Houssam Abiad – Digimob Australia; Felici Expresso Bar, Muscle Group Australia
Angelique Boileau – Boileau Business Solutions
Cara Kirsten – Sound Diagnostic Radiology
Michael Marinos – Nova Concepts Australia
David McMahon – McMahon Services
Kim McNamara – KJM
Anthony Paech – Beerenberg
Dr Leanna Read – TGR BioSciences
Dr Andrew Saies & Dr Greg Keene – Sportsmed.SA
Yasser Shahin – Peregrine Corporation
David Snoad – Pinz
Adam Trippe-Smith – McLaren Vale Beer Company
Listed entrepreneur – Bob Kennedy – Beach Energy Limited
Social entrepreneur – John Shepherd AM, Operation Flinders Foundation
Champion of Entrepreneurship – Rick Allert AO

Eastern Region (NSW & ACT) Regional Awards Final to be held on Thursday June 23, 2011
Matt Barrie – Freelancer.com
David Brown – Trixan
Valerie Duncan – Energy Action
Brendan Green – Hire a Hubby
Nikki Hager – PeepToe
Dr Miles Jakeman – The Citadel Group
David James – Brasserie Bread
Helen Logas – Travelcorp
Anthony Moorhouse – Dynamiq Pty Ltd
Paul Munten – Ocean & Earth International
Dr David Penn – Southern Cross Dental Laboratories
Jeff Phillips – Varley Group
Mark Rutherford – Ilum-a-Lite
Brian Siemsen – Siemsen Group
Naomi Simson – RedBalloon
Listed entrepreneur – Nicholas Curtis, Lynas Corporation Limited
Social entrepreneur – Melinda Cruz, Miracle Babies Foundation

Northern Region (Qld) Regional Awards Final to be held on Thursday July 21, 2011
Tim Bunker – Nursery Traders
Jim Campbell – Murphy Pipe and Civil
Kenton Campbell – Zarraffa’s Franchising Pty Ltd
Randall Deer – RewardsCorp
Bruce Evans – Abacus ALS
Paul Everest & Ian Everest – Unit
Alex Koszo – Vecor
Claes Loberg – Guvera Limited
Don McKenzie – Stream
Robert McVicker – Morris Corporation (Aust) Pty Ltd
Andrew Northcott – LSA Recruitment Group
Kim Parascos – iVolve
David Schramm – Evolution Traffic Control
Ben Shipley – Comscentre
John Sugarman – Australian Maritime Systems
Mike Timoney – Dental Partners
Listed entrepreneur – David Bond, Linc Energy
Social entrepreneur – David Barbagallo, Endeavour Foundation
Champion of Entrepreneurship – Mick Power AM, BMD Group

Southern Region (Vic. & Tas.) Regional Awards Final to be held on Thursday August 11, 2011
Darren Alexander – Autech
Joel Bartfeld – Shine Group
George Calombaris – The Press Club Group
Lorenzo Coppa – eStore.com.au
Justin Dowel – Natures Organics
Mark Evans – Dental Corporation
Gillian Franklin – The Heat Group
Matt George – Money Choice
Martin Halphen – The Fruit Box
Professor Silviu Itescu – Mesoblast Limited
Michael Klim – Milk & Co
Gabby Leibovich – Catchoftheday.com.au
Steve Morriss – Close the Loop
Christopher Ride – Interactive
Alan Winney – Emerald Group
Listed entrepreneur – Brian McNamee AO, CSL Limited
Social entrepreneur – Marion Webster OAM & Renata Singer, Fitted for Work
Champion of Entrepreneurship – Lyndsey Cattermole AM

Western Region (WA) Regional Awards Final to be held on Thursday July 28, 2011
Mauro Balzarini – Wellard
Aaron Begley – Matrix Composites & Engineering Ltd
Ky Cao – Perth Energy Pty Ltd
Paul Deuchar – Argon
John Gallop – Mineworks Group Pty Ltd
Gene Kostecki – Alloy Steel International
Michael Lawson – Northerly Group
Brad Pense – RecruitWest
James Rhee – Swan Energy
Rory Vassallo – Vassallo Corporation
Professor Paul Watt – Phylogica Ltd
Listed entrepreneur – Michael Malone, iiNet
Social entrepreneur – Professor Michael Henderson & Professor Bruce Robinson, International Skills & Training Institute in Health
Champion of Entrepreneurship – Andrew Forrest, Fortescue Metals Group