Imagine a society in which entrepreneurs are perceived as celebrities; in which successes and results are celebrated and rewarded, not questioned and commented on from the sidelines. Imagine a society in which individuals with vision and courage are congratulated and respected for being the drivers of economic and social change.
Well, unfortunately, that’s not the society in which we live—at least not according to a study by the Institute of Economics according that showed more than a third of economics students believe that entrepreneurs do not have a positive reputation in society.
While the whole world admires how a single idea can alter an entire industry, or how small start-ups continue to change the very core of IT as we know it; in our country, the words “I am an entrepreneur” are still spoken quietly and with modesty.
Why is that so?
Privatization, politics, state control, outdated mentality: these are just some of the terms we use to justify or explain the situation to ourselves.
Is there any truth in this and how much? What are the possibilities and limits of our entrepreneurship? What is the real role entrepreneurs play in society? These and other questions will be discussed in the panel entitled Entrepreneur: Public Ally Number One.
Hrvoje Bujas, entrepreneur and president of Glas poduzetnika; Mihael Furjan, president of the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP); and Stjepan Orešković, PhD, majority owner of M + Group, will discuss these and other phenomena on this panel moderated by the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Večernji list, Mislav Šimatović.
