The iceberg and the sustainable entrepreneur

The book is a textbook for Sustainable Entrepreneurship which facilitates the journey from idea to project, to potential business and a guide for personal development towards becoming an entrepreneur. We present the reader to a number of practical and timeless models and exercises, relevant for the journey towards becoming a sustainable entrepreneur.   We want to challenge the image of the entrepreneur as a hero figure with a brilliant idea that works 100 hours a week, and who sleeps on a mattress in the basement until their business becomes a success and then sells it to the highest bidder.  We believe that there is a need to challenge the image of who can become an entrepreneur; what is required to become an entrepreneur and what successful entrepreneurship is and can be. We want to encourage everyone to think of entrepreneurship as an essential personal and professional competence. Entrepreneurship is about taking action. About doing. Learning through experience and failing in different ways. It is about finding your own way and formulating your own definition of success. The book is both a guide to entrepreneurship as a skill and a toolbox that can help you relate to and develop a sustainable business which balances the triple bottom lines. Why an iceberg? There is a lot of focus on the visible aspects of entrepreneurship that revolves around the idea (the product or service) and what the entrepreneur tells and shows the outside world. However,  in our experience, it is the invisible actions that are pivotal for your success as an entrepreneur: your personal growth, your team and everything that lies behind the development of the idea, and everything else below the surface. Visualizing the narrative of the book with an iceberg addresses this issue, while also symbolizing the effect of climate change and the burning platform that drives many entrepreneurs to focus on sustainability. Why we wrote the book We want to share our experience as advisors in sustainable business models, educators in entrepreneurship and facilitators of entrepreneur programs. We want to help you move forward with your idea, your startup, or your early stage business, in a sustainable way that allows you and your business to thrive now and in the future.