The term “technology” comes from a Greek word, technologia. Technology is the application of tools, materials, processes and techniques for human activities. In other words, technology is the human activities to modify thing in the surrounding nature in order to meet human needs and desires. Technology has always marked the birth of human civilization, from the stone-age era to the reform era. Not all technologies can survive in their time. Only the technologies providing benefits to human life and businesses can survive and perpetuate.

Business without technology can still work. What is offered by science and technology is the solution to overcome (business) problems to make it more effective and efficient. Technopreneurs are business people based on technology.   Therefore, technopreneurs are those business people who use technology in every business activity.  They use technology to create innovative products which canserve as substitutes or complements in their business activities. The term technopreneurship means any business activity related to technology or technological matters.

What are technopreneurs? Technopreneurs are those people having the following business characteristics:

Effects of technology in business and its advantages.

Technology has been implemented in all aspects, both business and non- business aspects. Computers, cellular phones, fax machines and internet have become daily features. The effects of technology that we can now observe in business:

1. Globalization

With the technological era at the present, all business and their partners can have close relationships because information will obtained easily, fast and efficiently, without any geographical and lingual limitations.

2. Communication

Technology can make communication cheaper, faster and more efficient, via email or video conference.

3. Effectiveness and Efficiency

Technology is able to help the computerization in business processes so that business activities can be achieved effectively and efficiently in improving productivity.

4. Cultural gap bridging

Technology is able to bridge cultural gaps of many different cultures as it enables people to communicate and share experiences and thereby improving opportunities for businesses.

5. Flexibility

With flexibility, business activities can take place at any time around the world. And business transactions can therefore be done anytime and anywhere with the use of the internet technology.

There are some advantages generated from technology-based businesses: (1) as the source of the creation of values, as technology makes it possible to create products and services to meet the needs previously non-existent, (2) creation of wealth, in a short period of time, technology innovation-based products and services can attain massive wealth,  such as the case with Microsoft and Google, the two economic drivers, as already proven in highly industrialized countries, the growth of  their GDP comes from their advanced technology (comforts/ease in life) because with technology, information can be obtained easily and efficiently via the internet, transportation problems can be overcome with airplanes, cars, and life expectancy becomes longer as a result of the advances in bio-medical technology and better treatments.

The book Technopreneurship written by Eko Suhartanto and Ary Setijadi, et al. may provide the reference framework of the methods to set up technology-based businesses supplemented with the examples of its implementation, making easier for the readers to understand the materials presented. Our country really requires more technoepreneurs in order to continuously support economy and business activities so as to make us a great nation with advanced economy.

This book starts with the summary of technology in human civilization, and proceeded with the discussion of technology in business and the strategies. The concepts of the theory written clearly explain the steps in building technology-based businesses. The examples presented are about the implementation of business and economy businesses. The examples described make the book easy to be comprehended and fun to read. This book is very suitable for candidates of new entrepreneurs being fond of dealing with technology. As we all know, there are, of course, the negative sides of technological advances. We often hear the words online prostitution and online gambling. These negative activities are not business activities. They are breaches of the code. The business world respects lofty etiquette, the business code.

*) Djono Nurhadi, Management Study Program (Prodi Manajemen), UPN “Veteran” Yogyakarta