One of the great defects of modern economics is the failure to take proper account of the impact of entrepreneurs. These figures are the prime movers in any new enterprise, but they are a badly understood breed. If academics, investors, civil servants and politicians were more familiar with the tribe of entrepreneurs, returns on capital would improve and industrial policy would be more effective.

Yet, after many years of partnering with a variety of business founders, I have some sympathy with the researchers: entrepreneurs are by nature individualistic and hard to analyse. Literature on the subject is neither extensive nor profound; given the importance of entrepreneurs to job and wealth creation, it is a costly omission.

Academics have tried over the decades to categorise entrepreneurs, so as to provide insight into their motivations and likelihood of success. For example, in 1990 Robert Hornaday proposed a simple division between “craftsmen”, “promoters” and “professional managers”. The first type take great pride in the technical aspects of their products; the second are wheeler-dealers who concentrate on making money; the final subspecies have a structured approach to their trade, adopting many of the habits of large corporations. Craftsmen are passionate about quality, but often insufficiently ambitious. Promoters lack a long-term perspective. Professional managers can build scale, but may be too inflexible.