I’ve spent the last five years conducting over 160 interviews with entrepreneurs for my podcast, the En Factor. What started as a way to share stories evolved into something I didn’t initially plan for: a qualitative research archive that revealed consistent patterns in how entrepreneurs think and make decisions under uncertainty.
This discovery led me to develop what I call Entrepreneurial Intelligence (EI)—and now I’m launching the EI Lab to explore this construct more deeply and share it openly.
The timing matters. After more than 30 years as an entrepreneurship educator and researcher, after serving on corporate boards ranging from startups to MarineMax (a NYSE-listed company with approximately $2.5 billion in assets), and after building my own ventures, I’m finally seeing patterns I couldn’t have recognized earlier in my career.
The Pattern Recognition That Changes Everything
There’s something called crystallized intelligence. It’s the accumulation of knowledge and expertise that doesn’t peak until middle age and remains stable into the mid-seventies. When we’re younger, we rely more on fluid intelligence—the ability to solve new problems quickly. As we age, we offset lower levels of fluid intelligence by relying more heavily on our greater crystallized intelligence.
This is why I can see these patterns now.
As I continued developing my thinking about entrepreneurial mindset and practice—work I shared in my book, See, Do, Repeat: The Practice of Entrepreneurship—I began to understand that there were underlying principles fueling that mindset and practice. Principles that went deeper than what I’d been teaching or what existed in the literature.
I realized I had a tremendous opportunity. As an academic, as an entrepreneur, as a board member, as someone who’s been involved in the practice of entrepreneurship in many different contexts, I could dive into this construct and really develop it.
I feel called to do this. It’s a legacy opportunity.
What’s Been Missing From How We Talk About Entrepreneurial Intelligence
The term “entrepreneurial intelligence” has been used before, but we’ve never really defined the construct. When I look back at definitions of entrepreneurial mindset, I felt they weren’t deep enough. They weren’t getting to this underlying intelligence I was beginning to see.
We live in a world where it’s easy to come up with superficial answers to anything. We use AI and often run with the first answer we get because it’s convenient or serves other purposes.
The construct hadn’t been explored in the depth it needed to have real meaning and make a big difference. The kind of transformation I’m hoping for with this work.
Why Current AI Falls Short for Entrepreneurs
AI gives us lots of answers, but they’re not curated.
My experience as an academic with decades of studying entrepreneurship, combined with my conversations with people who are living entrepreneurship in their daily lives, gives the EI Engines I’m building a curated perspective that’s more human, more real, more valuable than general AI.
Recent research confirms this gap. Human experience and judgment are still critical to making decisions because AI can’t reliably distinguish good ideas from mediocre ones or guide long-term business strategies on its own.
Even more concerning: Large language models are fundamentally designed for predicting next words and generating fluent text, which may limit their capacity for creating forward-looking causal theories and strategies. Because they rely on past data, there’s a risk of reproducing conventional strategies, potentially reducing the novelty and uniqueness of strategic ideas.
This is exactly what entrepreneurs don’t need.
The Power of Curation
Let me give you a specific example of what curation looks like in practice.
I was interviewing Tim Parker for the podcast. We were talking about how important it is to really want to do what you’re doing as an entrepreneur. Because I’ve spent four decades in the classroom with learners, I recognized a learning opportunity.
Students tell me all the time: “People advise me to follow my passion, but I’m 20 years old. I don’t know what my passion is.”
So I posed that question to Tim. He gave such a great answer—one that addressed a real struggle for anyone who wants to be an entrepreneur but is uncertain about direction.
An AI agent wouldn’t have asked that question. It didn’t directly relate to Tim’s area of expertise. But because I had that experience of hearing it over and over from students, I knew it could be a learning opportunity.
Curation comes from unique experience. In my case, it comes from my unique combination of experiences across education, entrepreneurship, and corporate governance.
Understanding Entrepreneurial Intelligence vs. Emotional Intelligence
Before I go deeper into what EI is, let me ground this in something you probably already know: Emotional Intelligence (EQ).
I’ve been interested in emotional intelligence for years. I even did research on it as it relates to entrepreneurs. But Entrepreneurial Intelligence is different.
EI has elements of emotional intelligence, but it goes beyond that. It’s very closely tied to the practice of entrepreneurship and applying entrepreneurship in different contexts.
EI is what undergirds and fuels and drives entrepreneurial mindset. It gives us the ability to develop this mindset and to practice entrepreneurship in any context and over a lifetime of work.
Think of it this way: mindset sits on top of intelligence. EI is the foundation. It requires hard personal work and courage, and it helps us build that mindset. Because mindset and practice go hand in hand—I talk about this a lot in See, Do, Repeat. Mindset is developed from practice, and practice comes from mindset.
Everything driving that is entrepreneurial intelligence. The core components of EI give us the courage to step out and step into practice and start developing that mindset.
Individual EI vs. Collective Entrepreneurial Intelligence
I’m still developing and testing hypotheses here. My work is in progress. But I’m feeling confident that there are a number of core components of entrepreneurial intelligence.
Some are related to the individual—the development and growth of the personal individual. Others come from the ability and willingness to learn from the collective and shared experience of entrepreneurs.
True entrepreneurial intelligence involves both.
It’s about the development as a person as well as your collective network and willingness to learn from that network. Every entrepreneurial venture is comprised of who you are, who you know, and what you know. Entrepreneurial intelligence embodies all of those.
Research on collective intelligence shows that a group of new organizations may develop population-level learning that enhances innovation. By engaging stakeholders from different departments, disciplines, and external partners, organizations can identify potential risks early and make more informed decisions.
What Blocks Access to Collective Intelligence
That phrase “willingness to learn” is critical. It’s not automatic. Some people resist learning from the collective even when it’s available to them.
Here’s what blocks that willingness:
- Fear of failure
- Early success (yes, success can block learning)
- Lack of curiosity
- Defensiveness
- Unwillingness to change
- Falling in love with our ideas or the way we think it should be
- Our ego
- Resistance to change
- Lack of accountability
This is why entrepreneurial intelligence is so critical. Learning to overcome these self-imposed limiters is a big part of EI and being able to tap into Collective Entrepreneurial Intelligence.
Where Entrepreneurial Intelligence Applies
I believe there’s application in a wide variety of contexts. I’ve applied entrepreneurial intelligence to my academic career, in the boardroom with businesses, and in my own entrepreneurial ventures. I’ve also seen it applied by others in virtually any context—from art to healthcare to business.
When someone with high entrepreneurial intelligence walks into a corporate boardroom versus launching their own venture, there’s a common thread: clarity, courage, and communication.
In each context, all three have to be present. But the way they’re defined and applied differs depending on the context.
For example, in my work with nurses, I’ve seen one application of EI. In the corporate boardroom, a very different picture of these three. But they’re all there.
Clarifying this is a research question I plan to work on in the EI Lab.
Why I’m Launching the EI Lab as an Open, Collaborative Space
Most researchers guard their work closely until it’s published. I’m taking a different approach.
I just experienced something today—working with a team at my university on planning for a big vision. It reminded me again of the importance of the value that comes from working in a community. It has to be a highly functioning group and community, but over the years I’ve learned that when I hold things too closely, they don’t move forward.
It takes courage to be vulnerable enough to put research out early. But my hope is that it will be far better in the end because it has this shared vision.
I recognize that I bring one perspective, which I think is a very unique one to lead the development of this construct. But I’m very open to—and in fact see great value in—bringing in input from others early.
What I Want You to Do in the EI Lab
I want you to engage with the things I share. Provide feedback. Begin learning about entrepreneurial intelligence while I’m learning about it.
When I started the podcast, I looked at it as a way to share my research. I was already doing interviews with entrepreneurs for my research, but I wanted to democratize it. Put those stories out for other people to hear in their entirety and not only translated through my perspective.
That’s the same thing I want to do with the EI Lab.
Podcasts are increasingly recognized as valid qualitative research sources. Academic researchers are now proposing structured methodologies that enable the integration of podcasts into qualitative research while ensuring rigor and reliability.
I’m building on that foundation with the EI Engines—AI models trained on the podcast transcripts. These engines offer a specialized approach to decision-making under uncertainty, one that’s grounded in real entrepreneurial experiences rather than theoretical frameworks.
Making Entrepreneurial Intelligence Accessible
My mission is to make EI accessible and practical. To move beyond traditional frameworks and provide a lasting way of thinking.
Through En Factor Plus, I’m creating a learning platform for aspiring and practicing entrepreneurs. It’s designed for those facing major changes or transitions in their lives but who don’t have or want to invest the resources necessary to get a master’s degree in entrepreneurship.
Maybe you’re a nurse or doctor who wants to take your work beyond your patients. Or a mother ready to re-enter the workforce on your terms. Or a mid-career employee ready to pursue your passion. Or a retiree with a wealth of experience to share.
The platform offers access to learning materials I’ve developed and used during my career as an educator. Access to the right kind of network to support your entrepreneurial efforts. Coaching—both personal and online via coachbots. Assessments to help you understand more about your mindset.
We do this at a cost that’s significantly more affordable than traditional educational options and with much more accessibility. You don’t have to travel, move, leave your employment, or uproot your life or family.
What’s Next
The EI Lab is launching on my website at drrebeccawhite.com. You can expect to see ongoing developments and opportunities for participation.
I’m integrating research, practice, and collective learning to help you navigate uncertainty with confidence. This work extends to the classroom, where I apply EI principles with my students at the University of Tampa.
I value learning and access to learning for everyone, regardless of resource capabilities. I value intellectual integrity, intellectual honesty, and intellectual humility. I seek to remain open to differing perspectives as long as they’re all based on kindness, compassion, integrity, respect, and civility.
I seek to listen more than I talk and ask questions that can bring us together in service to each other.
That’s what the EI Lab is about. Join me there as we develop this construct together.
Because entrepreneurial intelligence isn’t just for entrepreneurs. It’s for anyone who wants to think, learn, and act under uncertainty with greater confidence and clarity.
