Talking about entrepreneurship
We begin the first episode of the new mini-series on the language of entrepreneurship by discussing associations with, and definitions of, entrepreneurs. Bernard quotes one definition from Investopedia, a website for investors.


Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash
We then go on to talk about local businesses and what they call themselves. If you read German, you may enjoy this article on names for hairdressers’ shops. Bernard mentions various categorisations of entrepreneurs (see here) and how one type may not regard the other as a “real” entrepreneur
One category of entrepreneur is the ‘mumpreneur’. For academic work on mumpreneurs, and female entrepreneurs more widely, see:
- Surangi, H. A. K. N. S., & Ranwala, R. S. (2018). A discourse analysis of research texts on mumpreneurs. Kelaniya Journal of Management, 7(1), 1-12. http://doi.org/10.4038/kjm.v7i1.7550.
- Ahl, H. (2006). Why research on women entrepreneurs needs new directions. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 30(5), 595-621.
- Marlow, S., & McAdam, M. (2013), Gender and entrepreneurship: Advancing debate and challenging myths; exploring the mystery of the under‐performing female entrepreneur. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, 19(1), 114-124. https://doi.org/10.1108/13552551311299288
We continue the first part of the episode by talking about the value set on entrepreneurial thinking and attitudes, especially at universities. Veronika mentions examples from the hosts’ employers:
University of Ghent (Bernard): Centre for Student Entrepreneurship, https://www.durfondernemen.be/en/
Aston University (Erika): Start-up support for graduate entrepreneurs, https://b-seen.biz
Lancaster University (Veronika): Entrepreneurs in Residence, https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/business/community/entrepreneurs-in-residence/
For critical views on enterprise culture and entrepreneurial universities, see:
- Fairclough, N. (1993). Discourse and cultural change in the enterprise culture. In Graddol, D., Thompson, L., & and M. Byram (eds), Language and Culture. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, pp. 44-54.
- Mautner, G. (2005). The entrepreneurial university: A discursive profile of a higher education buzzword. Critical Discourse Studies, 2(2), 95-120.
You can watch Steve Jobs introduce the iPad here:
While the iPad may be a useful invention, check out this Instagram account for some useless inventions 😂😃🤪
During the interview with Munene Khoza, Veronika mentions an interview study she did with language professionals. Here’s the reference:
- Koller, V. (2017). Language awareness and language workers. Language Awareness, 27(1-2), 4-20.
The business plan we analyse in the final part of the episode, and other examples, can be found at https://www.startups.com/library/expert-advice/top-4-business-plan-examples

Veronika mentions small stories during the analysis, an idea from recent narrative theory (see also episode 7 of the podcast, on storytelling):
- Georgakopoulou, A. (2007). Small Stories, Interaction and Identities. Amsterdam: Benjamins.
See you again for the next part of the mini-series on the language of entrepreneurship!
Listen to the episode here
