Our image of the entrepreneur has changed. With start-up culture booming, technology driving development and allowing more freedom, we seem to think of entrepreneurs as digital nomads managing companies remotely as they change the world.

Yet the reality is far from this. The Marketing Agencies Association (MAA) and The Centre for Brand Analysis (TCBA) have analysed 200 blue-chip companies to explore the extent to which they foster an entrepreneurial culture and how smaller, owner-operated businesses can learn from them.

What emerges from the resulting Super Entrepreneur report is that entrepreneurialism is about making a vision accessible to many different markets, constantly reinventing and honing ideas.

Who would have thought at Google’s inception, for instance, that it would come to compete against BMW in the driverless car market? What propelled the tech giant to this position is the same brave entrepreneurial spirit that caused at least 14 of Richard Branson’s ventures to fail and explains why James Dyson created 5,126 failed prototypes before he was satisfied that he’d created a better vacuum cleaner.

It took James Dyson an awfully long time to get here

This willingness to try things and fail, combined with untold persistence and the intent to do things differently are the true hallmarks of the Super Entrepreneur. But what can your business learn from this?

Cast your net wider

Large companies benefit from scale and access to investment funds in order to experiment in different markets, but this can be achieved on a small scale too. Step back and look at your venture, think how it relates to everyday life, what problems it solves, then if it applies to new audiences.

Market research or focus groups could be valuable in shaping your thoughts. This doesn’t mean a huge budget. It could take the form of a simple mind map or even discussions with other peers and friends. They might see a completely far-afield market that you never thought of.

Take a chance

In an increasingly global and digital world, you need to stay ahead of the competition. Risk-taking helps companies get ahead of the competition as they learn lessons over time. This explains, in part, Dyson’s presence at the top of the Super Entrepreneur table. Dyson invested £1billion into battery technology and isn’t afraid of taking big risks when it senses a market opportunity. Google was also cited in the report as a company that is constantly innovating and trying new things.

Try, Try and Try again

The most successful companies in the Super Entrepreneur list take the try, try and try again approach. Clearly, this is within reason, running your life into the ground while becoming bankrupt is not the key to success. What goes hand in hand with risk taking is overcoming fear of failure.

Entrepreneurs understand that most of the good learning comes when things go wrong. They tend to create a non-blame culture and use failure simply as an opportunity to learn what not to do next time. Try to think of ventures and failures as investments – not everything is a sure fire hit but you will learn something from failure.

Even the best entrepreneurs still throw up the odd dud.

Build a “fast culture”

The Super Entrepreneur panelists warned that, as businesses grow, processes and red tape can slow things down. The experts recommend that businesses build a “fast” culture to embrace entrepreneurship. There is no question that the digital age has accelerated change in consumer demand and expectation. To succeed, today’s companies have to understand changes in expectation and adapt quickly.

Understand the importance of marketing

In today’s highly competitive and often over-served markets, consumers buy into the belief systems built around products, as much as the products themselves. It is vital that companies use marketing to build up an audience of fans and advocates who can carry their messages for them.

All of the successful Super Entrepreneur companies have thought about customer experience and go beyond simply selling a product to a customer. Several have sought to change the way communication works, while consistently re-enforcing their ethos through great marketing, design and development.

Grow ideas with an open culture

Open cultures can take the form of funding education, institutions and apprenticeships, harnessing the start-up community, or embracing ideas from other industries or cultures. Many of the leading companies in the report were praised for their commitment to supporting the arts, education or science.

All businesses can learn from tech brands such as Google and Facebook by backing young entrepreneurs to provide a flow of new ideas and personalities into the company. Dyson’s investment in battery research demonstrates that it’s thinking of the bigger picture and allows it to tell a story about developing future products and benefitting future generations.

Don’t forget your audience

A constant focus on customer experience and their needs, instead of profits and corner cutting, is much more likely to spell success. All top performing Super Entrepreneurs share an obsession with their customers and exceeding consumer demand. They also possess a great ability to quickly reorient their resources and competences, when the customer demands change.