8 benefits of being an intrapreneur

Business school founder, Gifford Pinchot III, coined the term “intrapreneur” in 1978 as “dreamers who do. The ones that take on responsibility for creating innovation of any kind, within a business.” Intrapreneurship is defined as employees who do for corporate innovation what an entrepreneur does for their start-up. An intrapreneur is an employee who is given support and agency to create new products, services and systems for the benefit of the company. While entrepreneurs are needed to create new businesses, healthy and sustainable growth of an existing company requires different methods of innovation. Intrapreneurs are one stream of innovation, and can drive new projects and discover opportunities for business expansion. 

There are many benefits to intrapreneurship. While research shows that being intrapreneurial tends to “elevate both employee engagement and productivity scores” and benefits companies greatly, there are also many benefits of being an intrapreneur.

You’ll have the chance to:

Develop a new set of skills and boost your confidence

Through the process of pitching and presenting your ideas, getting iterative feedback, and getting exposure from others within your organization, participating in an intrapreneurship effort at your organization can help you level up your skills and confidence. You’ll have the chance to practice new skill sets beyond your usual work-driven activities, and feel a sense of ownership over your innovative ideas. 

Collaborate in a new way

Through intrapreneurship, you’ll be introduced to new people, methods, and ideas. This will give you the opportunity to learn from people who you might otherwise not have a chance to meet. This will both challenge your own thinking, and increase your exposure to new disciplines and specialties. You’ll also be a part of a community of like-minded individuals who will mutually benefit from each other’s feedback. 

Create value for your business

Intrapreneurship gives you a chance to deliver indispensable value for your business by creating a new idea that could be your company’s next big innovation. Companies that don’t take time to innovate intentionally can become complacent (just look at what happened with Kodak in our last blog post). Meanwhile, your idea might take your company to surprising places. Did you know that 3M’s Po

st-It note came from employees? Can you even imagine 3M without its Post-It note business? 

Test your resourcefulness 

Being an intrapreneur gives you the chance to think about a new product or system, (your very own!) from end-to-end, with fewer restrictions than usual. It also creates a unique opportunity to consider questions such as implementation, scale, and long term sustainability. Learning how to best leverage the resources available to you is a skill that can help you no matter where you go!

Receive individualized support and mentorship

Being a part of an intrapreneurship program will give you mentorship opportunities from global experts, and help you receive support for an idea that is financially invested in by your organization. You’ll have the chance to own your idea and receive individualized feedback to improve your idea. 

Take new risks

Pitching an idea and working on it is a commitment and involves some level of risk. These risks can give you the opportunity to explore uncharted territory for yourself and your organization, which can highly boost your personal and professional growth. 

Flex your creative muscles

Coming up with an idea and brainstorming how to bring it to life takes creativity and innovation. It will give you a chance to think outside of your usual box with fewer constraints and restrictions. 

Connect with your sense of purpose

Many intrapreneurs say that being an intrapreneur has helped them create value in a way that aligns with their interests, passions, and values, in order to develop a stronger sense of purpose at an organization.

There are many benefits to intrapreneurship and many ways to grow within the organization in a new way. If any of these reasons sounds like something you’re interested in, we’d encourage you to get involved! Applications for the 2021 0→1 Challenge are open now, and the L Marks team is available for feedback at any time.