Entrepreneurial Growth Through Portfolio Entrepreneurship: The Entrepreneurial Career Ladder

Abstract

Portfolio entrepreneurship, starting and managing more than one busi- ness venture at a time, can be observed at all scales of entrepreneurial endeavour, from micro-entrepreneurs who engage in multiple enterprises in local markets to large-scale entrepreneurs who have established sizeable conglomerates and business groups operating in global markets. One rea- son for this prevalence could be that portfolio entrepreneurship is the outcome of a process entrepreneurial growth and capital accumulation through diversification (Rosa 1998). As new opportunities are identified and pursued, additional lines of business are added to the entrepreneur’s portfolio, gradually forming a business group. This strategy of growth by diversification is an alternative to growing generically in a single firm focusing on a limited and focused range of products and services