Intrapreneurship vs Entrepreneurship (James Dooley Chats With Craig Campbell)

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 in a previous video about how some people just cannot cope mentally, physically or whatever it may be with doing that. 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 80/20, something like that. So 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: Obviously, an entrepreneur like yourself is willing to put your money where your mouth is.

You're willing to try things. If it fails, it fails. There is no one to cry to. Intrapreneurs are basically employees who want to use other people’s money or put the risk onto someone else. I'm not saying it is a bad thing to be that person. Sometimes you need other people’s money to grow. Maybe you can grow from an intrapreneur to an entrepreneur because mentally you need confidence first before taking more risk. But for me, intrapreneurship is much more of an employee-type thing. Someone is always going to leverage you. The person willing to put the capital up is usually the one winning. There is more risk in that than people realise. Would you rather lose £50,000 knowing you did it your way, or would you rather lose potentially more in time and know someone else controlled the outcome?

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

I do not want to waste my time. I do not want 10 years in a job as an employee. However, I do think there are people in life who are not ready to be entrepreneurs. They are too wet behind the ears and not experienced enough in business. Sometimes it is almost like an apprenticeship. If you have a good number one, and it is important to have a good entrepreneur above you, you can learn a huge amount over the years before you're ready to leave the nest and do your own thing. I think starting out as an intrapreneur can be good, as long as you choose the founder and business owner very wisely.

Craig Campbell: Yeah, learn from them. If they do have the entrepreneurial mentality, they can eventually leave the nest.

James Dooley: I also think there is the security part. If someone has a couple of kids and cannot take those risks because they need to put food on the table, I get that side.

You mentioned going from intrapreneurship to entrepreneurship. Do you think someone who starts as an intrapreneur can become an entrepreneur in time?

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

We did not come from a lot of money, and you would rather use other people’s money to get a leg up until you start making more yourself. It is similar with Kasra Dash to a certain degree. You brought him in young, nurtured him along the way, and I am sure you would let him go at any point. He has had to be an intrapreneur who will go on to become an entrepreneur. Gary Wilson is another example. He did not start with a lot of money and was your VA for a while. There are plenty of examples, even ourselves, where people had to leverage something or someone to get to where they got to. As you get older and wiser, you start thinking, “I will take the risk now. I have got money in my pocket.” Years ago, I did not have the money to take those risks. I would have loved someone with a million quid in the bank to back me. I probably would have made as many mistakes, if not more, but it is all part of that apprenticeship. People’s life circumstances matter. If you have two kids at 17 or 18, I fully understand why you cannot just spend disposable income on business ideas instead of things your kids need. I came from a background where no one gave me a big pot of cash to start a business, so I understand needing a leg up. But when people get older, there is no real excuse. At that point, you're one or the other.

James Dooley: Here is a debate people have quite a lot with entrepreneurship versus intrapreneurship.

Many say the number twos in a business have a better life. They might earn slightly less, but they can switch off at the weekend. We spoke in another episode about the disadvantages of entrepreneurship, and there are a lot of disadvantages. There are times when I wish I could switch off, but I cannot. Even on summer holidays with the kids, sometimes you're quickly checking WhatsApp or email, and you know you should not be doing it. Can intrapreneurship sometimes be the better choice? I love entrepreneurship. I think I was born to be an entrepreneur, and I think you were too. But have there ever been times where you thought, “I am taking all these risks. It is all my money. The buck stops with me”? Like I said in a previous episode, when something goes well, you shine the light on the staff. When it goes wrong, it is always on you.

Craig Campbell: I probably would not change it personally. I love being that guy.

I do try to take myself out of a lot of group chats because I cannot be bothered at night. But I would not change it personally. I can see why someone may choose to be number two and earn a big salary. There are lots of number twos in companies on sizeable salaries with benefits, and they can switch off at the weekend. But I do not think I would change it. I like to be the one doing everything. I think it is second nature to me. I do not know if it is part of my upbringing, but it is in my DNA to be an entrepreneur. It is probably similar to you as well. Even if I was playing chess, I would want to beat you. You might technically be better, and you might have played more than me, but one way or another, I am coming back to beat you. It is the same with anything, whether it is chess, football or golf. You are not going to wipe the floor with me forever. I will get you one day. That is my mentality in business as well. Even if I fail and fail again, one day I am coming back and I am going to be better. I cannot snap out of that. Even when I play FIFA with my son, he is seven years old, and my wife says, “Are you giving him a beating?” He asks for a free goal and I say, “No, you need to learn to lose.” My wife tells me to go easy, but I cannot. I do not know where I got it from, but I just do not like getting beaten. So I do not think I could be an intrapreneur personally. I think you have it as well. If we went sparring and I caught you once, I know you would be back in the ring. Whether it is table tennis or padel, I know you would want to come back and beat me. There is a story about Cristiano Ronaldo playing table tennis with someone and getting beaten. He went away for a couple of weeks, bought a table, got lessons, practised, came back and beat them. That is me and Adam. I did not even know Adam was good at tennis. He went to Florida with Gary Wilson, played me and beat me 6-1, 6-2. I was fuming. It ruined my whole day. We were in Florida with nice weather and heading to a beach party, but I was internally raging. So I got Mark to help me because he is brilliant at tennis. He started coaching me. Then we went to the Philippines to see Adam’s partner, and he asked if I fancied a game of tennis. I beat him 6-3, 6-2. I was giving it to him afterwards. He asked if I had been practising, and I said no, but I had been practising. In my office, I was also getting beaten at table tennis. I could not get the knack of spinning the ball. I Googled table tennis lessons, but there were not many people offering them. There was a small club in the north of Glasgow, and I phoned the guy because I wanted him to show me how to beat them. Anything where you beat me, you better believe that if I need to invest two grand to get better at it, I will. It is not even about cost.

James Dooley: That comes back to being an entrepreneur.

Sometimes I feel like an intrapreneur might not have that same level of drive. It is an interesting debate. We hope you liked this episode on entrepreneurship versus intrapreneurship. Make sure you check out the link in the description with regards to all the different questions that you should be asking an entrepreneur. I think one of the best questions is, “Are you an entrepreneur or an intrapreneur?” Craig Campbell, it has been an absolute pleasure.