An Internet entrepreneur is a person who finds unique opportunities to make money in cyberspace. Since the World Wide Web encompasses everything from social media to direct retail sales to investment opportunities, an Internet entrepreneur can literally work in thousands of different fields to make money. The term is most commonly applied to website owners, online stock traders, and people who invest in various Internet-related businesses, but that is really only a fraction of the total possibilities. On a smaller scale, an Internet entrepreneur could also be a writer, a graphic designer, or even an advertising firm.
All Internet entrepreneurs have one thing in common; they want to make money off all the people that use the web. Many consumers feel that they would not be included in that statistic since they may not physically purchase anything while they are online, but the basic knowledge of every website that every person across the globe visits is recorded for statistical purposes. The first wave of Internet entrepreneurs used this information to customize the way that consumers see advertisements and banners throughout cyberspace.
In fact, a modern Internet entrepreneur may not even have a product to sell. Some online businesses act as a go-between to bring corporations and the average consumer together in cyberspace at a centralized website. Once the domain in question increases its overall popularity with consumers, it can make revenue off advertisements and sponsors. There are millions of simple blogs and informational websites around the net that make serious money just from people visiting, which is one of the more common examples of an Internet entrepreneur.
Those with money to invest may play a completely different role as an Internet entrepreneur. For example, some social media and teleconferencing projects may require millions of dollars (USD) in order to become a reality, and most of these businesses start out on a shoestring budget. Investors are able to purchase a portion of the company in exchange for providing the funding to make these types of inventions a reality. Other types of investors may use the Internet to trade stocks, find real estate to purchase, or to provide equity for millions of different businesses.
There are also millions of other people who would be considered an Internet entrepreneur as well. This very webpage, for example, requires no less than ten people to design the graphics, prepare the content, and make sure each of the hyperlinks work as intended. While this type of Internet entrepreneur is not as wealthy as some of the other types mentioned, cyberspace would not be anywhere near the same place without them.