August 21 marks World Entrepreneurs Day and on this special day, we take time to appreciate the leaders and risk-takers.

Entrepreneurs have been the reason for the thriving businesses we see making moves in the UK, and around the world.

Russell Dalgleish, Founder of the Scottish Business Network and successful entrepreneur shared, “The success of entrepreneurs is critical to a thriving economy. It is the entrepreneur who creates high value jobs, attracts capital and generates new opportunities for the community they are based within. “Each successful founder creates a supply chain of local businesses and attracts new talent to the area. But most importantly it is the successful entrepreneurs sitting at the centre of a thriving ecosystem who transform our societies.

We only need to look at the likes of Tallinn in Estonia to see the best example of this phenomenon today. More than ten tech Unicorns were created from a nation of 1.5 million, including Wise, Bolt and Pipedrive from a country that was a Soviet Satellite state up to 1990.”

Entrepreneur Vs. Business Owner

Its not to get confused, though: a business owner is not the same as an entrepreneur. Anyone can own a business, but not many can be entrepreneurs. The difference lies in the way one chooses to lead, innovate and take risks. Adam Levine, a high performance coach at InnerXLab spoke on the differences, saying, “A business owner typically focuses on managing and maintaining an existing business. Their main goal is stability and profitability and they’re usually involved in the day-to-day operations of the business they own – that’s managing staff, customer satisfaction etc. Business owners might buy a franchise, inherit a family business, or start something with a clear and proven business model in mind. They’re more likely to stick to what works and gradually improve it. “That’s where business owners and entrepreneurs differ – an entrepreneur is someone who’s all about innovation and risk-taking. They’re not just running a business – they’re often trying to create something new and disruptive. Entrepreneurs are more likely to start from scratch with an idea that might not have been tried before. They’re comfortable with uncertainty and are always looking for opportunities to grow, pivot, or even completely change direction if it means achieving something bigger. Entrepreneurs are driven by a vision and are usually more willing to take risks for potentially higher rewards.”

20 Iconic Entrepreneurs In The UK

We’ve put together a list with 20 forward-thinking leaders, whose ideas and creativity has led them down paths of success. These are the icons we are acknowledging and paying homage to this World Entrepreneurs Day:

Tara Attfield-Tomes, founder, EAST VILLAGEDr.

Richard Ahlfeld, CEO and Founder, Monolith

Johan Sundstrand, CEO and Founder, Phyron

Kieran O Regan, Founder, About:Energy

Dr Ian Campbell, CEO, Breathe Battery Technologies

Ryan Edwards, CEO and Founder, Audoo

Eldar Tuvey, CEO and co-founder, Vertice

Phill Robinson, CEO & Co-Founder, Boardwave

Jorgen Ellis, CEO and co-founder, Strolll

Sara Daw, Co-founder, CFO Centre

Helen Murphy, co-founder, Opply

Alex Adamopoulos, founder and CEO, Emergn

Anthony Jacob, Founder, Nila

Steff Wright, Chairman, Gusto Group.

Christophe Williams, CEO, Naked Energy

Jonathan Patrick, CEO, Consultant Connect

Asif Ghafoor, CEO, Be.EV

Tristan Thomas, CEO and co-founder, Packfleet

Ilya Drozdov, co-founder and CEO, Dwelly

Sam Budd, CEO and Founder, Buddy Media