Difference between entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship

 1. Ownership of a business

The first and most obvious difference between entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship is ownership. An entrepreneur is an individual that ‘starts-up’ a business and is the owner.

Whereas, an intrapreneur is an employee of the company and does not usually have any ownership. However, some employees, likely the intrapreneurs among them, may hold shares in the company they work for in the form of shares.

Ownership of a company gives the entrepreneur the ultimate control over what the business does. The Entrepreneur is the furthermost risk-taker of the business.

The intrapreneur may take ‘risks’ within the corporation where he works. However, the final risk comes down to the responsibility of the business owner. There is no actual financial risk taken by the intrapreneur.

The main difference between entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship is in the level of risk taken by the individual.

 2. Financial loss

The second difference between entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs is with regards to the ultimate sacrifice. The ultimate sacrifice being made by an entrepreneur as one of potential financial loss.

Many times the entrepreneur will use his own money for his startup business. They will many times also use their own assets (like their own home) to secure loans to finance their small business start-up.

An intrapreneur will not usually be in a position to raise funds for the organisation. The intrapreneur is therefore not risking any of their own money in any organisation where they are involved.

Entrepreneurs have been known to lose everything. This sometimes includes their home after their business has collapsed. Whereas, if a company fails, the intrapreneur can just walk away, so bear no risk at all.

Financial loss for the entrepreneur comes in two forms. Firstly, if the business makes a loss, and runs out of cash, the entrepreneur is the one who has to make up the difference. Secondly, where a company collapses and goes into liquidation, the entrepreneur could lose everything. This will depend on what monies are owned by the company, and what’s personally secured by the entrepreneur.

3. Financial gain

On the converse of financial loss, the third difference between entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship is that the entrepreneur is the one who will reap the rewards of success.

This financial reward is two-fold. Firstly, where the company makes a profit, the entrepreneur will be able to reward himself with profits in the way of dividends.

Secondly, the final benefit to the entrepreneur is on the sale of the business. Where the organisation has done exceptionally well, the entrepreneur could be in for a significant gain from the sale proceeds.

It’s possible that due to the nature of an intrapreneur, they may have arranged a ‘profit share’ for themselves. This will mean they receive a reward for their efforts. However, this will always only be a share of profits. Which compared to the entrepreneur, who is entitled to 100% of