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 TEXT 7 

Global Entrepreneurship TWO SUCCESS STORIES 

Adam Farrel founded a solar technology business when he was just 15 years old. His entrepreneurial

career started in ninth grade while working on a science project designing a solar-powered house.

Surprised by the costs of the photovoltaic technology his team needed, Farrell realized there was an

untapped market for smaller cells. Farrell has since expanded his business, Silicon Solar, turning it into

a major research and development firm and one of the largest suppliers of solar energy technology

in the world.

Elon Musk, one of the key founders of PayPal, made hundreds of millions of dollars in his early 20s.

Not satisfied with mere riches, Musk decided to aim for immortality by going on to start Tesla Motors,

the sexy electric car startup, and Space Exploration Technologies, one of the most advanced private

sector efforts to date to create a cheap and accessible space launch capability.Farrell and Musk are emblematic of a new generation of young entrepreneurs. Fuelled by easy access

to information on the Internet, lower barriers to entry in many industries, and burning curiosity, these

 young go-getters are starting earlier and going further faster than in any previous generation.

STARTUP CULTURE GOES GLOBAL 

Today young people feel that the achievements of people like Farrell and Musk are not entirely

out of reach. In fact, it’s now accepted and even considered a beneficial trait to have this sort of

entrepreneurial stardust and drive. What’s more, this shift has clearly gone global.

Even in the poorest, most remote parts of the globe, aspiring young entrepreneurs are more informed

about startup culture and have more affinity with their foreign peers than at any time in the past.

They are not waiting for their governments to remove the barriers to starting business – they are

leading such change. Take telecom infrastructure, for example. Young entrepreneurs are bringing

technologies like mobile banking and cellular phones to rural areas on every continent, enabling

others to start and grow their own ideas.

Entrepreneurs like these, driven by a dual motivation to do well and do good, offer hope amid a

world somewhat overwhelmed by so many problems ahead. And with a world population of 6.5

billion and growing, we will continue to face new challenges of increasing complexity. It is our young

entrepreneurs’ ability to create solutions that could be our leaders’ greatest tool to achieve much

needed, global-scale innovation as they address poverty, increasing energy demands, disease, and

climate change.

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 TEXT 7 

  1 Read the text Two success stories and complete the summary below.

 The first success story is about (1) who (2) his

entrepreneurial (3) at the age of (4) while working on a

(5). Since then his business has (6) because it took up

an unexploited sector of the (7). His Silicon Solar is one of the largest suppliers

of (8) in the world.

 The second (9) is about Elon Musk, one of the founders of

(10). He also (11) Tesla Motors for the

production of (12) and Space Exploration Technologies which creates

(13).

Farrell and Musk are emblematic of a new generation of young (14).

 They were helped to achieve success by (15).

  2 Read the text Startup culture goes global  and tick ( ✓ ) the following statements true (T) or false (F).

1  Today young people feel that the achievements of people like Farrell and Musk

are impossible for them. T   F

2 Entrepreneurial determination among young people is becoming a global feature. T   F

3  Young people all over the world share the same entrepreneurial interests. T   F

4 Government regulations are a difficulty for young people to overcome. T   F

5  Young people are leaders in change. T   F

6  Technology helps the spread of business initiatives in remote and underdeveloped

areas all over the world. T   F

7 Making money is the only motivation of young entrepreneurs. T   F

8 Politicians should rely on young entrepreneurs to bring about global-scaleinnovation to solve the overwhelming problems of our society. T   F

  3 Match the words in list A to their synonyms or definitions in list B.

 A B

untapped 1 a  determination to act

mere 2 b  pleasant dream-like feeling

fuelled 3 c  unexplored

stardust 4 d  simple

drive 5 e  nourished

4 If you have a good business idea, write a paragraph about it, otherwise write about a business

success story you know of.