Can we all become Gulf entrepreneurs?

Some people will always say, 'I wish I had come to the Gulf 20 or 30 years ago, now all the opportunities have gone'. However, you do have to wonder whether these folks would have seen the opportunities that are so obvious now if they had landed in the region at that time.

Then economies were more closed to foreigners than they are today. You could not own property. Free zones were very limited in scope. It was very much a question of knowing the right people to win contracts. The summer was very hot without air-conditioning.

Today things are changing very fast across the GCC. Economic and administrative reform is on the agenda in every country, and is being rolled out at a sometimes alarming rate.

Did you spot the new judicial system for Saudi Arabia earlier this year? Are you ready for the new regional capital market, the Dubai International Financial Exchange, set to launch September 26? What about the revised upcoming UAE Companies Law, or Freehold Property Law?

All of these reforms create new business opportunities, and entrepreneurs are the best people to take them. But why is it that entrepreneurs can succeed where bigger companies often do not? Bigger companies have the money and the experience, yet they often loose out to entrepreneurs.

Why did Stelios Haji-Ioannou succeed in launching EasyJet while British Airways first missed the concept of a low-cost airline, and then failed when it tried to set up a rival?

It is not that big companies are necessarily stupid or lacking in commercial aggression. Indeed, it is perhaps their very size and internal bureaucracy that makes them unable to adapt successfully to change.

The layers upon layers of accountants, financial professionals, lawyers and the rest who theoretically safeguard the value of a large organization, also inhibit its entrepreneurial flair. In the worst case scenarios, they kill the company.

However, the only entrepreneurs that succeed are those that can find rare market opportunities ahead of others. Successful 'me-too' entrepreneurs are also comparatively rare.

That is not to say that those attending 'Entrepreneurs in Dubai' will not learn a few useful lessons this week. It is always useful to hear from the masters of an art.

But the true entrepreneur has the genius of market insight, which is gifted only to a few, although anyone can open their eyes a bit further. There might be an opportunity staring you in the face, particularly in a dynamic place like this region today.