Section outline

  • What is an entrepreneur?

    The word ‘entrepreneur’ first appeared in the English language in the 1700s. It comes from the French verb ‘entreprendre’ which means to ‘undertake’ or to ‘do something’.

    An entrepreneur is a person who sets up a business and takes risks in the hope of making money. They see a financial opportunity and act on it. 



    HOWARD WRIGHT WAS A NZ MOTOR MECHANIC WHO LOVED TO MAKE THINGS AND SOLVE PROBLEMS.

    In the 1950s Howard started his own engineering business in a small workshop underneath his house in New Plymouth, New Zealand. He mostly made things out of wrought iron, like balustrades for stairs,

    until he was approached by a nurse from the local hospital. Could he make a modern hospital bed like the ones they had seen in photos from overseas? Howard looked at the photos and talked to the nurse and decided he could. It wasn’t long before he realised he could in fact do a lot better, using the latest hydraulics. Howard’s fame and his hospital Beds spread around New Zealand and in the early 1960s he took the plunge and opened his first dedicated hospital bed factory.

    Tasks on google classroom