les entrepreneurs

Last year, Forbes clarified one very important definition: "Entrepreneurs, in the purest sense, are those who identify a need—any need—and fill it. It’s a primordial urge, independent of product, service, industry or market." It's that risk and irreplaceable satisfaction that has attracted me to start-ups, time and time again. Yet, despite the French origins of the word (and the fact that I'm currently basking in entrepreneurial spirit at a Parisian start-up), entrepreneurship is hardly as prevelant here as it is in the U.S. Of course, that claim entirely depends on your social circles... and I've spent most of this week in the company of expat bloggers.

Monday night: the Words & Wine event. I arrived to a modern Parisian literary salon (Sylvia's apartment) complete with friendly faces, many bottles of wine, and sweet and savory bites. An hour or so later, Juliette read us an excerpt from "Dancing with Paris" and opened up a candid discussion on her writing process and career. Casual, inspiring conversation flowed freely after.

Wednesday night: the first National Kale Day international event. Kristen of The Kale Project joined forces with Laura and Braden of Verjus for an evening of wine and kale dishes. Lorelei met me there and we caught up over sublime glasses of chablis and pinot noir, in addition to fabulous spiced kale chips. I was thrilled to also chat with Lauren, Melanie, Anna, and Lisa, among others.

I can only speak from my American upbringing, but it makes sense to me that all these talented ladies are pursuing independent ventures abroad. I too was brought up with the encouragement to dream big and think outside the box. I was told it's okay to fail, as long as you take the lesson learned and do better next time. I'm aware that limited American regulations stimulate business (hello, neoliberalism), just as our weak welfare system drives efforts to reject the status quo--though I can't say I entirely agree with either.

Here, on the other hand, "just 15% of French respondents to a recent EU survey on attitudes toward entrepreneurship said they had started or taken over a business, or were planning to do so,"(qz) the lowest among the 27 European countries polled. Nonetheless, I'm not arguing that the French don't take creative chances. Mine are the opinions and observations of a non-expert of economics and culture. Not to mention that, "there is a stark difference between 'there are not enough prominent startups' and 'I do not know the startups,'" as Liam Boogar protested. All I'm saying is: it's pretty cool to live in a city where new ventures have yet to become blasé, and it's even more so to be fostering relationships with the amazing people behind them. Way to go, Paris.