Foundational Entrepreneurship

Introduction

Walmart is widely recognized for revolutionizing the retail industry. Today, they have over 10,500 stores across the globe that welcome 34+ million shoppers every day.

Walmart is the world’s largest private employer, with over 2.1 million employees, and the highest-earning company on Earth, generating approximately $670 billion in annual revenue. The brand is a household name and has shaped retail as we know it.

In 1962, at the age of 44, Sam Walton opened the first Walmart store in Rogers, Arkansas. He dedicated the remainder of his life to building the retail empire.

In the late 1980s, Walton battled multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, and passed away in 1992. In the final hours of his life, Walton is known for sharing the words, “I blew it.” 

Sam Walton is one of the most accomplished entrepreneurs in history. He won countless awards, donated millions of dollars to philanthropic organizations, built a global brand, and was even named Time Magazine's Man of the Year in 1982. Despite all this, he shared massive regret at the end of his life.

It is widely believed that this regret was tied to neglecting his family in some form, specifically his youngest son and grandchildren. It is important to note, however, that Sam was married to his wife, Helen, for nearly 50 years until he passed in 1992.

I’m not here to question Sam Walton’s character or suggest he should have lived any differently. I’m simply sharing his story, particularly his end-of-life reflection, to illustrate a truth many entrepreneurs discover too late: building a successful company, by itself, will not make us whole. It is simply one pillar to a foundational life.

Society and Entrepreneurship

Through research and personal experience, I’ve come to realize that Walton’s story is not all that uncommon. It’s a pattern and, to be forward, I believe it’s all of our fault. The word “entrepreneurship” is a word I fell in love with at a young age, but I’ve grown bothered by our use of it.

Society often glamorizes entrepreneurship as a status symbol, presenting it as the “sexy” thing to do, while rarely acknowledging the chaos, struggles, and sacrifices entrepreneurs face behind the scenes.

Many times, being an entrepreneur becomes one’s identity, and what’s visible from the outside rarely reflects the full picture. But, as we see with Sam Walton, even the highest form of success as an entrepreneur falls short of making us “whole.”

The use of the word “entrepreneurship” has dramatically climbed, as seen below, yet we aren’t intentional in how define it.

Defining Entrepreneurship

According to Oxford Languages, Entrepreneurship can be defined simply as “the activity of setting up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit.”

This felt too bland and stripped down, so I did some digging for a more thorough definition. Here’s the best I could find:

Those who identify a problem and develop a solution to tackle it are leaders, innovators, spouses, parents, and icons—individuals who shape the progress of humanity. The current definition of entrepreneurship is semi-motivating, but it lacks the holistic approach that we have the responsibility to put forth.

Foundational Entrepreneurship

I, by definition, have taken the “entrepreneurial” path but semi-avoided the word as a label or title due to frustration with society’s misuse. The disconnect from the current definition, society’s representation, and reality has consumed my thoughts over the past year.

While in Undergraduate studies, I obtained a degree in Management & Entrepreneurship. During this time, I also dedicated countless hours to starting a business. While I enjoyed studying and applying entrepreneurship, it certainly did not holistically prepare me for the mental, physical, and emotional marathon of building a company.

As I’ve deepened in faith, grown in marriage, welcomed children to the world, and faced personal struggles - I’ve realized entrepreneurship is simply a piece to a greater puzzle. It is a piece that I love dearly and is crucial to humanity, but just a piece. However, it is one that needs to be approached with intentionality and that progresses us closer to a life of wholeness. If we do not balance and nourish all foundational pieces of our lives, we will falter.

Through experience, relationships, and research, I’d propose a new definition and framework for entrepreneurship: Foundational Entrepreneurship.

Foundational Entrepreneurship is made up of the following pillars:

• Faith: Believing in something bigger than yourself

• Family: Building a meaningful, present life with those around you

• Health: Mental, physical, emotional

• Community: Connections beyond self 

• Peace: Space for stillness

• Pursuit: Pursuing the solution to a problem you care about

In the future, I plan to dive deeper and expand on each of the six pillars. It is important to note, there’s no mention of entrepreneurship. “Pursuit” is meant to replace it. As humans, we seek pursuit and independence which makes this a key piece to the puzzle.

Foundational Entrepreneurship isn’t some magical solution to the issues highlighted above. It’s simply an organized framework to help us lead more impactful, meaningful, lives. We will fall short in certain areas at certain times and we will rarely be in balance. There will still be sacrifices, shortcomings, and times of despair. As humans, that’s inevitable. This is meant to be an intentional guide.