Intrapreneur and entrepreneur are business words that are frequently mentioned, sound similar, and carry very different meanings. I believe speaker and investor Paula Mills has said it the best when defining each of these words. “Entrepreneur is the founder who designs, launches, and manages a new business,” whereas “An intrapreneur is an individual who works on developing new ideas and products within the confines of the business that they already work at”.

These words both represent problem solvers and leaders looking to improve something they are passionate about. However, how they use their ideas is entirely different. For example, an entrepreneur will start a business, whereas an intrapreneur will try to implement their idea into a company they work for. 

Because of these differences, how these two types of individuals operate are different. The article titled Entrepreneur vs. Intrapreneur: What’s the Difference does a fantastic job illustrating these differences. For example, as the owner of a business, an entrepreneur has a large amount of freedom to make changes and takes on a high level of monetary risk. On the other hand, an Intrapreneur typically has limited autonomy in a company division and brings fewer risks than an entrepreneur. 

Both of these types of individuals are important for a business to grow and evolve. If you are an entrepreneur, you should create an intrapreneur culture to support creating innovative ideas that will provide your company with a competitive edge. And if you are a creative professional who lacks funding for his or her own business, then working for a company and using your intrapreneur expertise to help the business might be the path for you. 

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