Learning From the Entrepreneurial Icebreakers

This article shares the insights of "entrepreneurial icebreakers" -- business pioneers who launched private companies in Central and Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall and who expanded beyond national borders by clearing pathways for themselves and others into international markets around the globe. In documenting the obstacles they had to cut through to get to where they are today, we show the path to break inflexible, outdated structures by introducing new dynamics, redefining value creation and changing mind-sets. Their insights are especially relevant to anyone launching a business in a transition economy where the entrepreneurial opportunities and growth prospects may be greater than in mature markets -- but only if one learns how to operate like an entrepreneurial icebreaker.