The present Guide aims at providing minimum information to assist any person willing to gain an insight into how to become an entrepreneur.
The Guide tries to provide answers to the following queries a person concerned may have:
- Weighing up the pros and the cons, would I rather be an employee, or become an entrepreneur?
- If I want to be an entrepreneur, do I have the necessary qualities to engage in such an undertaking?
- If I want to set up a startup, how shall I begin?
- Can a woman be successful in this undertaking?
- Why would it be desirable to set up a startup in the field of Transport – Smart Mobility, and what do I know about this domain?
The Guide, developed under the works of the project Transport Innovation Gender Observatory – TInnGO – ( http://www.tinngo.eu/ ) financed uner the European Union research – development programme HORIZON 2020, with 20 partners (Universities, R&D companies and local authorities) from 13 participant countries, will develop a framework and mechanisms for a sustainable game change in European transport using the transformative strategy of gender and diversity sensitive smart mobility.
The Guide was not expressly stipulated in the description of the TinnGO project, but the works in Task 9.5 – ’Women entrepreneur in Smart Mobility’, as well as the webinars and tentative discussions with potential women entrepreneurs pointed out that it is essential for them to be provided a selection of brief information on both entrepreneurship and the specific character related to gender and smart mobility.
The Guide is structured across the following chapters:
1. Entrepreneurship
Based on the analysis of some works in the field of entrepreneurship, as well as on shared first-hand experiences, the Guide attempts at making a synthesis of the most important information specific to this domain.
The information provided was ordered and interpreted as we considered it best fit to spark the interest of potential women entrepreneurs, and to make it clear that entrepreneurship can be an interesting and feasible option worth considering.
The Guide provides the main information benefiting any person thinking over their possible options in life and in professional development. Entrepreneurship is perhaps the most exciting professional option which can secure the most important advantages (social, financial, in terms of professional- and personal life quality etc.), while being also highly risk taking.
Making one’s debut as an entrepreneur – by creating a startup – is a difficult undertaking, and calls for a minimum of specific information. According to startup guru Steve Blank, a startup is a ’temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model’ [1]
The Guide is trying to provide this minimum of information necessary for the person who is either analysing the possible options in their life and professional development, or considering creating a startup
2. Women entrepreneurs
Based on the research under the TinnGO project, and particularly on Deliverable D9.5 ’Case studies regarding women entrepreneurs’, the Guide presents some entrepreneurship- related gender specific issues.
Various gender- related opportunities and advice given by successful women are presented in support of the potential women entrepreneurs.
3. Sustainable Transport. Sustainable and smart mobility.
A presentation of the concepts of Sustainable Transport, Sustainable Mobility and Smart Mobility – SM, and of the EU strategies aimed at developing these domains.
The Guide provides information from the European Union strategies referring to the importance and innovative dynamism characteristic of these domains, which is both a challenge and an opportunity for potential women entrepreneurs.
The Guide presents briefly the advantages of the Sustainable Transport – Smart Mobility (SM) domain, as well as the diversity and dynamics of the current and future products and services in this domain.
4. Bibliographical recommendations for further information
It includes a list of 11 books appreciated as among the most useful for a potential woman entrepreneur having decided to create and run her own startup, to enhance her knowledge.
5. ANNEX
The Annex presents a volume of 14 motivational portraits of successful ladies across the European Union. The 14 portraits from 10 countries were selected out of a large number of contacts of the lady partners from the TInnGO HUBs, the information being processed and inserted, as a component part of Deliverable D9.5 ’Case studies of women entrepreneurs’.
The portraits were also uploaded on the site https://transportgenderobservatory.eu/the-observatory/ of the TinnGO Observatory.
As the portraits are genuine role models to follow, prove it is really possible to take up an interesting successful career, and provide precious advice to those willing to follow this path, we have also introduced them in the Annex to this Guide.
