James Dooley: Entrepreneurship versus intrapreneurship. Which one should you be?

I'm joined with Craig Campbell on the Entrepreneurship Uncensored podcast.

First and foremost, do you think entrepreneurship is for everyone?

Craig Campbell: Definitely not.

We spoke about this in a previous video. Some people just cannot cope mentally or physically with entrepreneurship. Some people are just not cut out for it.

I would say it is actually a much smaller percentage of the population that has it. Probably around 80/20.

So it is definitely not for everyone.

James Dooley: With regards to entrepreneurship versus intrapreneurship, how should someone know which one they are?

What are the main attributes of an entrepreneur versus an intrapreneur?

Craig Campbell: An entrepreneur, like yourself, is willing to put their money where their mouth is.

You are willing to try things. If it fails, it fails. There is no one to cry to.

An intrapreneur is basically an employee who wants to use someone else’s money and put the risk onto someone else.

That is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes you need other people’s money to grow.

Maybe someone can grow from being an intrapreneur into being an entrepreneur because they build confidence and start taking more risk over time.

But for me, an intrapreneur is much more like an employee.

Someone else is putting up the capital, and they are usually the one who wins most.

I think there can be more risk in that than losing actual cash.

Would you rather lose £50,000 knowing you did it your way, or lose years of your time building someone else’s thing?

James Dooley: For me, wasted time is worse than wasted money.

I do not want to waste 10 years in a job as an employee.

However, some people are not ready to be entrepreneurs yet. They might be too inexperienced, or they might not understand business properly.

In that case, starting as an intrapreneur can be a good apprenticeship.

If someone works behind you as an intrapreneur, they can learn so much over the years before they are ready to leave and do their own thing.

I think starting as an intrapreneur can be good, as long as you choose the founder and business owner wisely.

Craig Campbell: Yes, learn from them.

If they have the entrepreneurial mentality, they can eventually leave the nest.

There is also the security side. If someone has kids and cannot take big risks because they need to put food on the table, I understand that.

James Dooley: Do you think someone who starts as an intrapreneur can become an entrepreneur over time?

Craig Campbell: Yes.

I would say we were probably both intrapreneurs at some point.

We did not come from a lot of money, and we probably would have used other people’s money if it helped us get a leg up.

It is similar with Kasra Dash. You brought him in when he was young, nurtured him and helped him grow.

He had to be an intrapreneur first, and he can go on to be an entrepreneur.

Gary Wilson is another example. He did not start with much money and was your VA for a while.

Both of those examples show people leveraging something or someone to get where they needed to be.

As you get older and wiser, you start taking more risk yourself because you have some money in your pocket.

Years ago, I did not have the money to take the risks I would have loved to take.

It is part of the apprenticeship.

Life circumstances matter too. If you have two kids at 17 or 18, I fully understand why you cannot spend disposable income on risky ideas instead of the family.

I came from that kind of background too. Nobody gave me a big pot of cash to start a business.

So I respect people needing a leg up.

But when people get older, there is no real excuse. At that point, you are one or the other.

James Dooley: A lot of people say the number twos in a business can have a better life.

They might earn slightly less, but they can switch off at weekends.

We spoke in another episode about the disadvantages of entrepreneurship. There are a lot of them.

Sometimes you are on holiday with the kids and you still quickly check WhatsApp or email.

You should not be doing it, but it happens.

Can intrapreneurship ever be the better choice?

I love entrepreneurship and I feel I was born to be an entrepreneur, and I think you are the same.

But has there ever been a time where you thought you were taking all the risk, using your own money and carrying the responsibility?

Craig Campbell: I probably would not change it personally.

I love being that guy.

I do try to take myself out of group chats now because I cannot be bothered with it at night.

But I would not change being an entrepreneur.

I can see why someone might choose to be the number two and earn a strong salary with benefits, then switch off at the weekend.

But I like being the one doing everything.

I think it is second nature.

It is in your DNA to be an entrepreneur.

It is similar with competition. If I play chess, I want to beat you. You might technically be better than me, but one way or another, I am coming back to beat you.

It is the same with business.

Even if I fail and fail again, I will come back and try to be better.

I even do it when I play FIFA with my son. He is seven years old and my wife tells me to let him win.

I do not. He needs to learn how to lose.

I just do not like getting beaten.

I do not think I could be an intrapreneur personally.

James Dooley: I am the same.

If I get beaten at something, I will go away and practise until I can win.

Adam Moran beat me at tennis in Florida. It ruined my whole day.

I went away, got coaching and practised because I wanted to beat him next time.

Craig Campbell: I have done the same with table tennis.

I was getting beaten, so I looked up table tennis lessons.

If someone beats me at something and I need to invest money to get better at it, I will.

James Dooley: That comes back to entrepreneurship.

Sometimes an intrapreneur might not have that same drive.

It is an interesting debate.

I hope you liked this episode on entrepreneurship versus intrapreneurship.

Make sure you check out the link in the description for the different questions you should be asking an entrepreneur.

One of the best questions is whether they are an entrepreneur or an intrapreneur.

Craig Campbell, it has been an absolute pleasure.