It’s Degrading To Think Most Entrepreneurs Rely On Rich Parents, Says Local Business Owner
The article on entrepreneurial "rich kids" had gone viral among Malaysians recently.
By Samantha Khor — 07 Nov 2016, 07:53 PM
You might have recently come across an article claiming that most entrepreneurs are not the "special breed" the media paint them to be, but are in fact just ordinary people with access to the right connections and deep pockets
The article, titled 'Entrepreneurs Aren’t A Special Breed – They’re Mostly Rich Kids', originally appeared on Asia Finance, claiming that most successful entrepreneurs are - in reality - people with deep connections and financially backed by their wealthy families instead of the risk-taking, "mysteriously talented, charismatic types" the media portrayed them as.
While the article pointed out that critics have argued that connections and wealth don't guarantee a start-up's success, nor is there an absence of rags-to-riches stories when it comes to the rare few who've hustled their way to the top, some readers seem to have come away from the article with unfavourable impressions of entrepreneurial culture.
The original article was subsequently picked up by a local site, whereupon it was widely shared by Malaysians, most of whom agreed that many young business owners are able to do so simply because they are using "daddy's money"
But a local entrepreneur, who's been involved in the F&B industry for the past two years, begs to differ:
"At first I wasn't gonna say anything when I read this on a friend's post," the 24-year-old, who runs a cafe in Shah Alam, wrote on Facebook.
"Everyone has their own opinions on things, which I wouldn't be bothered to rebut, but after seeing how the masses actually agree with this poorly written article, something has to be said."
Although she agreed that having good connections and a lot of money are a great help when starting a business, she pointed out that the article failed to highlight that growing a business requires more than just having rich parents
"The facts stated in Asia.finance is somewhat true on certain levels, as if it is leveraged on efficiently, the business would pick up on a higher level and on a faster pace," she said.
"But the real struggle is to figure out how to maintain the business enough to make it profitable and to grow the business which requires a different level of entrepreneurial skills.
The article failed to display that fact, and somewhat changed the tone of the facts to view us entrepreneurs in a less favourable light."
"I've known entrepreneurs who have rich or well-to-do parents, but not once did they take advantage of that.
I've also known entrepreneurs who had all of the money and connections on hand, but failed to learn basic entrepreneurial skills."
"I've known entrepreneurs who risked it all, started everything from ground up, pitched their ideas to so many investors, get rejected and turned down, got back up and tried again.
I've known entrepreneurs who suffered for the first two years, persevered and now they made a name for themselves, purely for their handwork."
"It really did not justify the hardships we go through, as our daily lives require us to work almost 14 hours a day and the sacrifice we undertake is endless till this day."
"From my perspective where I have been surrounded with entrepreneurs of all ages and all backgrounds for the past few years, and as an entrepreneur myself, this article is not a fair reflection at all for how they labelled us," she wrote.
"The comments I have been seeing about the articles are just so degrading, it's really sad to see how the masses perceive people like us. For those who don't know much about entrepreneurship, that stereotype will now hang on a lot stronger just because of an article that did not portray the right tone of the facts."
What are your thoughts on entrepreneurial culture and Malaysia's start-up industry in regards to this issue? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.