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Brant Scheifler

Founder & Chief Encourager, Whiteboard Entrepreneur.com

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Does formal education play a significant role in the success of entrepreneurs and the outcomes of their business activities?

The foreground of such debate is perhaps seen in this debate: Are leaders born or made? With multiple TED (and Tedx) talks discussing entrepreneurship, I was curious what the community thought about the role that education plays in the success of the entrepreneur. (*please don't just say, it depends.)

Related Talks:
Topics: Entrepreneurs
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Closing Statement from Brant Scheifler

Thanks all for your thoughts and comments. It's clear that most commentators don't view education as being vital to the success of the entrepreneur. In fact, many feel it can be a hindrance. With that said, many pointed out that education is what you make of it and that it can be utilized as a tool, even if that tool is context/perspective. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!

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  • russell slocum

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    Mar 20 2012: Education can teach us many things: efficiency, business models, operations, etc. However it takes a certain type of individual to take inspiration from the outside world and change it into a executable business.

  • DHARMESH SHAH

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    Mar 20 2012: Interesting question. Just joined this. A parent wishes/ hopes/ aims that his / her child achieves the best that his / her natural and acquired talents would enable them to in this world. However, is there REALLY any formal education system today which actually empowers children to discover what they love to do and then actually encourage them to make a successful and ethical venture out of it? Hardly, but if there is one would like to learn about it. Most formal systems are too focused on results, marks, degrees etc and cannot teach children values, confidence, faith, etc which would be the tools of any entrepreneur. So who makes / inspires a child to become a successful entrepreneurs - role models, mentors, guides. Maybe the times of apprenticeship are returning - one on one lessons with a true guide / mentor / teacher?? Aside from education, the biggest influence on a child's ability will be the parents. Hence, I feel that a successful entrepreneur with successful business activities would reflect back and actually confirm that someone somewhere along his / her life did inspire them to think differently, believe in them selves, and encouraged them to understand how to take a risk, and most likely that did not happen in a majority of our class rooms. It probably happened in the real world. This does not discount the role teachers play today in inspiring children towards entrepreneurship and success within classroom settings. In fact maybe now more than ever our teachers play a bigger role in creating entrepreneurs. Hence while historically most success stories are about those who did not receive formal education that may not be the case in the future. One day this whole picture may need to be relooked at if we get our learning right from childhood.

  • Divyam Shah

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    Mar 20 2012: No,
    Steve Jobs-College dropout
    Mukesh ambani
    Bill gates-did not complete university
    Dhirubhai Ambani-Newspaper seller
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    Azilmi Hakim 500+

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    TEDx Organizer
    Mar 20 2012: I agree, I do not know how the systems and programs developed in the United States or other developed countries, but in my country, Indonesia and other developing countries, programs have started printing entrepreneur is set within the world of education, in addition to the government's decision to declare entrepreneur program in the campus, support for third-party support was in support of this program is very large, this third party between them is the entrepreneur who has been successful
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    Azilmi Hakim 500+

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    TEDx Organizer
    Mar 19 2012: I think the world of education and understanding of the function will be behind how meaning is leader created, or the leader was born in

    formal education that is applied in every country has the function and purpose of each, there is intended to create an entrepreneur, a leader, be a solution for the gover,emt system in the future, all have a very good goal, but it all again again in an environment where human beings are born, grow up educated and ready to become something, it all can not be separated from the role of education which he lived, I agree with what Mr. Robert Benjamin as a gang leader will not be effective when he became a leader in a company

    so did his thing with the entrepreneur, when he became champion in the traditional market will not necessarily be the champion he is also in the stock market, all returned to the formal education he received and the environment in which he grew
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      Brant Scheifler

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      Mar 20 2012: I see your point in that a leader/entrepreneur finds success within his given realm/niche, which may not crossover well. However, you also said that education has the intended purpose of creating an entrepreneur. From my perspective/experience this is not the case. There are some programs designed and catered to this mission but by large most are not, in my opinion. Do you find this to be true in a different country than the USA? If so, what country is that?
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    Robert Benjamin

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    Mar 19 2012: Without formal education, socially-appropriate reference frameworks may not exist within the mind of a born leader to enable and optimize the natural talent. For example, a gang leader who learned gang leadership on the streets, would not be able to be an effective leader in a corporation. Without formal education, people are like an empty book left outside in the street, exposed to the moodswings of the weather and the general environment - to be written in according to the seasons, and the whims of a passing vehicle or the pattern under the shoe of self-absorbed pedestrians. The human mind is a book. It reproduces from what has been written in it. To become relevant, it needs formal education.
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      Brant Scheifler

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      Mar 20 2012: Robert, this conversation as a whole has suggested that formal education doesn't play a large role in the development of the entrepreneur. While I honestly agree for the most part, I must say I was concerned we had fallen in to a sort of group-think in this thread. That said, you make a valid point that formal education can provide an important framework for the entrepreneur. Personally, while I found that I benefited very little in terms of most of the content of my formal education, I did gain some context. At the very least, even being aware of what "I don't know" has been helpful. (I then seek out/hire experts on those areas.) To your point, perhaps I would not be aware of those blind spots had it not been for college. If that justifies the time/expense of it, I'm not sure. But for some, that may be the only option to gain that perspective or framework and thus it can be used for good. Thanks for commenting.
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        Robert Benjamin

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        Mar 20 2012: Brant. You made a valid point. I noticed how the thread rapidly split into three discussions namely; education, leadership, and entrepreneurship. In general, little mystery remains in the relationship between education and leadership. However, thank you for placing entrepreneurship back into its proper, mysterious perspective.

        I would like to assert that Entrepreneurship could be regarded as a complex competency. First, I think that a tacit (unseen) universe exists for complex competencies, i.e., entrepreneurship. Second, an appropriate de-abstraction methodology could visualize this tacit world, and construct competency in a coherent system. By implication, entrepreneurial knowledge could thus be retro-encoded and demystified for formal learning and scientific application. However, we need to become educated in the tools required to perform this function of our human IQ and prior education. Education should provide knowhow and skills.

        I think, truly passionate individuals should choose to never allow structured learning to cease, even if such learning matures to an informal state – as a competency. At this level of self- actualization, it probably should be a constant choice yes. Learning evolves in iterative circles within knowledge lifecycles. It is a natural phenomenon, so we might as well embrace it in a structured (formal) manner. I think that entrepreneurs would be the first persons to accept such a paradigm in order to learn how to shift it for personal benefit.
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    Arvind Kuril

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    Mar 19 2012: In this regard formal education is a tool.

  • Michael Watson

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    Mar 19 2012: I say that leaders are born not made. I say this because I myself am only a freshman in high school but I have noticed that the kids who were leading in first grade are still leading today. And I have no business experience but I would say that having a successful business depends on how bad you yourself wants it and if you can inspire the people around you like Simon Sinek's great TED talk, "How great leaders inspire action".
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      Brant Scheifler

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      Mar 20 2012: Michael, good for you. Welcome to this thread and I commend you for your zeal and determination. I would assume that by your comment you would count yourself among those leaders? If so, do you feel your education is benefiting you in your efforts or hindering? Perhaps you have the most real time perspective of any of us who have commented thus far. Let us know!

      • Michael Watson

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        Mar 20 2012: Well yes I would consider myself one of those leaders and I would also say that education hasn't hurt if that's what you are asking. I wouldn't consider myself one of the smartest kids in my class, I'm only a year ahead in science and other than that I am taking advantage if every higher level class I can. With that being said I feel that education especially now is just a tool in order to construct the final product that is the students future. My school district is the highest achieving public school district in central Ohio, maybe the whole state I'm not sure, but this education is given to every kid who walks into the door of a classroom. This is where I'm going to connect back to what I said earlier in that it is up to the student to use that education. In the city I live in the question is not are you going to college but rather what college are you planning on going to. It is up to the child to take that extra AP or IB class versus just taking the regular class. Now when I bring this back to leadership I feel that the best leaders in the school have taken full advantage of the opportunity at hand and have turned it into something great. I hope that this helps in the conversation, if you would ever like me to comment on anything regarding education feel free to ask.
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    Sam Tukuafu

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    Mar 18 2012: I attended art school. I learnt how to view and present an art work. Writing was also important to present the ideas of an art work or exhibition (catalogues, artist statements, essays).

    When I left art school, I had these skills that lead me nowhere. I still painted and exhibited and my work is a growing sensation in the Pacific. I picked up on Sound, Film and Music Production through years of sitting at home, joining forums and watching You Tube and other internet tutorials.

    I'm also a male model at Vanity Walk and I got some extra work for some television programmes and adds. I gained first hand insight of how they filmed.

    With access to so much information, tutors and industrys here on the internet, I didn't need to waste more time and pay for further education. I just found what I wanted to do and studied it. Any equipment I needed, I built it or saved up and bought it.

    I began to realise the rewards of being at art school, art school examined the importance of presentation. I apply the art school mode to any product, whether its a book, music video clip or art piece. I create and build a presentation (who or how will it be viewed, how is the writing complimenting the product), link up with charitys and organisations and pitch on how it fits the demand.

    I hope this was relevant to the question. I am new to the site and this is my first post. Awesome to be on board.

  • adolfo soberanis

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    Mar 18 2012: I recognize the need for reform, but am not drawn into it. You asked for answers, I gave you brief versions of the solutions that I have been able to implement in classrooms that I have run or supervised. I also chose to educate myself in a unique manner. I used the colleges to learn what I needed to teach well and be the best parent that I could be, as opposed to following their "guidelines to graduation" as outlined in the "majors" section of the "education" catalog. I finally took my last g.e. units to graduate the last semester of school. Funny how the universities are designed with a lot of corporate structure and systems (advertising, recruitment, even making money!). Anyway, there may be more entrepeneurs if the ed system focused on creativity and ingenuity. Or not. It may be that some of us are just driven to work millions of hours! There are recent studies on orphaned twins raised by different families which show some very interesting things tying genes to behaviors - but not defining the person. These studies show that it is CRITICAL to nurture a child's nature. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to keep the balance between nurturing, guiding and using discipline. In the end, the parent is the first teacher and genetics does play a role in our decision making, but entrepeneurs have hybrid vigor, so we'll always be popping out of whatever system we're raised in to find ways to work without it, yet still within it.
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      Brant Scheifler

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      Mar 19 2012: I understand. Yes, education reform is a different battle altogether reserved for those who wish to enlist. :) Like you, I understand the need for it, but have not moved onto that front either. Thanks for sharing your experiential perspective!
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    Veronica Lugo

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    Mar 18 2012: Hello Brant !! Interesting question, I recently attended to an TEDx event at Phx. And on my way back home Mexico, I was thinking about all the wave -entrepreneurship- . I have been working with kids and teens at schools and private practice and my opinion is that there is a big adventage for a kid when he goes to the school to become a leader, besides the knowledge,discipline, structure an the tranning f cognitive skills, like planning, analysisi etc. there is an other main factor,(thta can even change the path of a low performance stundet into a leader), the factor is the role model of teachers, when they really work and project their passion, inject hope... hellp to find differets ways to jump the obstacles, and promotes apply all this knowlaedge otside the school´s walls. I think that leaders born and are sometime became... becasue they only need to be awaken by an inspiring, innovative soul who speaks the different languages of the multiple intelligences = ) . Gracias
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      Brant Scheifler

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      Mar 19 2012: Veronica, I agree. I have worked with youth in the past and my goal was to help them see themselves as leaders as well. Perhaps that's an interesting way to approach this conversation on entrepreneurship/education, that is, calling it leadership preparation. At the heart, entrepreneurs are really leaders. Conversely, the educational system produces followers in many respects. If we wish to encourage the entrepreneurial qualities in our youth (and adults if they remain open), we probably need to encourage leadership. The TED community encourages thought leadership, which is a powerful start. Beyond that, action leadership is more powerful still. I think if we can see education begin to produce more leaders, those with either for profit or non profit entrepreneurial aspirations, youth will receive empowerment to nurture and pursue their goals. gracias a ti!

  • adolfo soberanis

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    Mar 17 2012: One more thing - schools need more project based activities, both long and short term, so that children have something to show for their work and understand how rise/run builds stairs and a strong grasp of art and language helps you to express yourself better and, therefore, to be understood (which is a base desire for most humans).
    Also, these are quick, off the cuff responses and I am aware that the answers are barely outlined, but they do exist and I have seen, been involved with or created many solutions to the educational problems. One little classroom, even one little rural school, is hardly a force to change the educational landscape, but ripples do make waves when they touch the shore!
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      Brant Scheifler

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      Mar 18 2012: I can tell this is a subject you are passionate about! It seems you have put some thought into it as well. You might be interested in Seth Godin's new manifesto on education if reform is something you feel drawn into. Regarding entrepreneurship, I definitely agree that the current system is not built to develop those interests. However, it's kind of challenging because entrepreneur's likely make up a small % of the population. These educational questions are personally relevant to me as we are considering them in light of our children.

  • adolfo soberanis

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    Mar 17 2012: Unfortunately the schools I attended focused on following directions as the way to solve all problems and I lost the directions to this particular problem. I think my dog ate them! Just kidding, but it does bring up a valid point. Those "disruptive" kids in school, who don't give a lick if they pass or not, are often the craftiest, brightest, most unique individuals in the school. We must look to them for our inspiration. They are often born leaders or brilliant people who like to work behind the scenes. IMHO - Here's what's happening:
    1. Teachers are not taught enough about human growth and development. I've been through the child development programs and the K-12 programs and found that they each lack what the other needs. All programs also need to focus more on child guidance and discipline. The issues are so sticky there that nobody wants to deal with it - yet that's where a lot of strong teachers are failing.
    2. The power structure is backwards. Teachers have control of the classroom, right? But, don't we always say that ít's the "child's classroom", for the children? If we begin teaching children to run their own classrooms in pre-school then they will be able to run their own classrooms in later years and the teacher will take his/her rightful place as an instructor, a reference and resource gatherer and an elder wise to the culture. This is complicated, but possible and it works very well.
    3. Age separation. What? That is so unnatural. Family units are made up of children of different ages. They learn with and from each other. We need to group children according to their interests, which means that the groups will change as their interests change with the natural progression of their development.
    4. I'm running out of room. Suffice to say that there are many solutions. Reggio Emelia works. The Netherlands has a unique system that works for their culture. And... I've said enough!

  • adolfo soberanis

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    Mar 17 2012: I am a formally educated entrepeneur and I believe that my formal education helped me to do market studies, organize my work and structure my time. I also believe, however, that if I had taken college too seriously then it would have hindered my ability for divergent thinking. I have never cared about grades; therefore, only the learning affected me. I took the lessons and left the judgments. I have also spent 20 yrs in the educational system, as a teacher and supervisor, and have found that the system stunts our minds. Teachers are poorly trained; therefore, students are poorly taught. Believing in the system leads to apathy and a lack of problem solving skills in many kids that would, otherwise, become successful entrepeneurs. I have discovered that the most disruptive students often have the drive and unique ways of thinking that entrepeneurs need in order to succeed. Formal education, while slightly different than K-12 ed., remains a creativity killer. It helps with organizational skills but hurts the ability to create new ideas from old, which is one of the foundation stones for being a successful entrepeneur. Ultimately, entrepeneurs don't need higher education - higher education needs us!
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      Brant Scheifler

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      Mar 17 2012: Adolfo, you have a unique perspective on this. I have to ask, what do you then think the educational system could do to better equip entrepreneurs within the system? I'd love to know! (So would many others.)
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    Manish Kumar Aggarwal

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    Mar 16 2012: Life of an achieved entrepreneur in itself is a matter of education.

    As every asset of human kind plays a significance role so as formal education, but not a limitation if it is not.

    Education and experience are the gears of a vehicle allowing the speed one by one. The education must be formal or not, doesn't carry much significance.

    Entrepreneurship is a combination of taking responsibility, challenging risks, making meaningful life for others and self by his products, services and ideas. This is about involving people for reaching their goals by helping each other.

    So education is important, formal or not - doesn't carry a big significance, but can be an advantage at the beginning.

  • santiago rodriguez

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    Mar 16 2012: I think that wisdom and knowledge are totally pursuable without formal education, so leaders are made (by themselves, not even by formal education) not born in a sense, because it requires study, yes, but study does not need to be formal.

    Leaders are born, because the pursue of the needed knowledge is embeded into the person in some kind of way. Some seek it, some do not.
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    Ufuk Tugrul

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    Mar 14 2012: actually it is related about that how much time does formal education take time from us? i am studying now but at the same time i have many projects in my mind to do. but i have a lot things to do for my studies and so there is no time to develop myself out of formal education. So, if there is no balance, it can be really harmful. i dont think so that all topics that we learn at schools are so beneficial. Some of them are really useless. I believe that people can learn in real manner when they experience. Probably they think that we want to do something after studies but this is not true
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      Brant Scheifler

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      Mar 17 2012: Ufuk, where are you studying if I may ask? I know what you mean, in fact, I can relate. I went to college and was simultaneously launching a business at the time. To be honest, I was learning much more from my real world activities. At the same time, some (very few) of my classes offered an interesting perspective on some of my entrepreneurial activities but most classes (for me) were geared toward making me a corporate employee. I found some value, but most of the content, in my experience, wasn't applicable. Yet, many of us feel we must have a degree to obtain real world credibility. Strange. Do you plan on pursuing your ideas while you are in school or does your coursework demand that you wait?
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        Ufuk Tugrul

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        Mar 17 2012: Hey Brant,

        I study in Poland as you said most of studies aim to prepare students for companies. I hear so much time words which is starting like "for companies". However i wanna hear more entrepreneurship or our own business. But, still i am trying to go on my way and pursue my ideas eventhough i dont have much time after studies. Maybe i am moving with small steps but it is better to be waiting i think. i guess you pursued your ideas while you were studying, didnt you ?

        Cheers!
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          Brant Scheifler

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          Mar 18 2012: Yes, it's possible to pursue both, but it has its challenges. One thing I did to use my school time efficiently was this. Whenever possible, I would select research papers that allowed me to research the market or customer demographics I was also doing business in. That way my time spent studying (sometimes) crossed over into my business activities. The other thing available today is outsourcing. I do a ton of that now. There are lots of sites on the net these days that allow you to delegate some of your business tasks to workers, and it can be quite cost effective. All the best, would love to hear about the ideas you want to pursue.

  • Thair AlAujan

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    Mar 13 2012: No it does not what actually plays that role is the educator. The teachers are the main contributors that egnite the passion to like a specific activity and the need to develop your skills to succeed in it.
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    Lisi Hoff

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    Mar 12 2012: Steven: Quote: "But to suggest that he was "born" to be a leader is to suggest that Lincoln didn't take great pains to study (of his own accord) philosophy, history etc. What gave Lincoln, MLK, Newton the impetus to study and learn to the degree they did? I'd wager it wasn't genetics but other people. Undoubtedly, there were people in there lives that instilled in them a thirst for knowledge and awareness. This thirst is planted by other (previously) thirsty people. Are some "born" more thirsty than others? To a degree, perhaps but I really think it's the environment that makes the man."

    I respect your belief that such may be life for you!

    Maybe semantics are a problem here. As I would say to a close friend: Listen to my words, do not assume that you know what I am thinking, really HEAR what I am saying. (In this case reading)

    We have a consciousness do we not? Some people call it soul, some universal intelligence. Those are only labels of "what makes us tick" as individuals and do the labels really matter?

    In short: This is what my life experience has taught me:

    Thinking that I could be a good leader through hard work, education genetics and other people is, to me, like saying that I can learn to paint like Rembrandt or Picasso through hard work, education, genetics and other people.
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      Brant Scheifler

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      Mar 13 2012: Yes, the nurture vs nature debate began shortly after the chicken and the egg, or was it the other way around? :)

      At any rate, I think both sides are valid. What I see in your last statement is there needs to be a gift present to start (Rembrandt), but then it needs further development and practice. I think we get it wrong when we think we can practice a gift into place that was never there to begin with, and also when we rest on a gift and never develop it to its fullest potential. Hopefully we can recognize our gifts AND develop them, as well as understand where we aren't gifted and invest our practice hours in better areas of life. That might be ideal, but that is the best of both sides of the debate in my opinion.
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        Lisi Hoff

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        Mar 15 2012: imo, we are all born with at least one gift. What, in part is lacking is nurturing. We tend to brainwash our children to follow the leader, to be like everyone else. To stifle creativity. Yes each point IS valid, Yes there are always more than one way to look at an issue.
        So if I go from: We all have at least one inborn gift: In that case nurturing becomes the priority.
        There are a lot of people in "leadership" roles. Maybe too many would have been better of doing something else.
        We live in a world that today, imo, is full of mediocracy. Partly because the lack of nurturing, which most likely is a result of not taking into consideration that we all are gifted in some way.
        The environment can only nurture, feed, starve or destroy "the gifts". The environment cannot produce the gift!
        Then again do you need a gift to be an entrepreneur?? Only, imo if you are also going to be an inventor. And that was my earlier mistake: I made an incorrect assumption that an entrepreneur is also a creator. From reading the many replies, that is obviously Not the case. My apologies :)
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    peter lindsay 30+

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    Mar 12 2012: I think formal education plays the same roll in everyones life no matter where you end up. Education gives you the tools to be a grownup. Most entrepeneurs are born with a personality that allows them to take enormous risks for a chance of an enormous outcome. Many of them go bankrupt several times before they have long lasting success. For most of us the stresswould be fatal. How often do you hear stories about how some one who is now a millionaire started their buisness by quiting their job and mortgaging their house to finance an idea that sounded rediculous at the time?
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      Brant Scheifler

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      Mar 13 2012: I believe there is something commonly shared by way of a personality trait in entrepreneurs, or at least it's a shared quality. I know there are plenty of studies out there on this, can anyone reference a link?

  • Alex Caton

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    Mar 12 2012: I think this is a question with a very flexible answer. Everyone is different, some people thrive in educational situations and can readily manipulate a learning environment to facilitate real-world solutions, and others do much better just getting out and having a go.

    I must say, though, highschool and a lot of undergraduate degrees are very constricting unless you're the type of person who CAN manipulate a learning environment to ensure you get what you need out of it. Forget grades, forget awards, and focus on soaking up information and experimenting with ideas as much as possible. The most common mistake people make with formal education is to assume that by doing a degree you'll be able to replicate academic success on an entrepreneurial scale, or that it will give you everything you need to succeed. Which is entirely not true. Formal education can give you the tools, the network and the information resources to develop a range of informed solutions backed up by research - but it's the foundations, not the house. To build a business you still need to get out into the market, make mistakes and learn from them.

    I also think if you're going to use formal education to your advantage you can't stop with highschool or even an undergraduate degree. It's not until you hit the research stage that you have the freedom to use the resources available to academics to push boundaries and develop something new.

    I think people have to be wary about relying entirely on formal education as a vehicle to success, but at the same time I think for some people it can be an extremely useful tool. It depends on the person, their ability to use formal education rather than rely on it, and an individual's natural ability to think independently.

    Basically, I think leaders ARE born. But I think some leaders can make formal education work for them incredibly well and others will thrive much better without it.

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      Brant Scheifler

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      Mar 11 2012: Thanks for your response, but I'm not following your point. What are your thoughts on the question at hand?
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        Lisi Hoff

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        Mar 11 2012: Education tends to stifle young minds. Maybe one reason has to do with the fact that most children, many teenagers and adults retain learning best from hands on experience. Possibly related to why many entrepreneurs leave school "unfinished".
        Mentorship has been a proven method of teaching. We even used to have apprenticeships.

        I think that expertise in any field is often more a result of self-study than formal education which too often dogmatize studies, producing "experts" in extremely narrow fields who more often than not, submit to peer-pressure. Because of the limiting environment in many fields, many truly creative people/entrepreneurs may simply be bored; And/or know that "rocking the boat" will most likely harm their careers. They may also not be learning what they think or know they need to know and learn
        We are not often rewarded for creative thinking and boredom is a powerful destroyer of loving to learn.
        After all how much of the theories we studied in college do we still remember? And how much of what was "facts" then have changed. New theories, new "facts". Are people then not better off testing their skills and pushing their abilities on their own or hopefully with a mentor.?
        Bryann, above, says it quite succinctly :)
        In short my answer is Yes :)
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          steven clausnitzer

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          Mar 12 2012: Per your comment above:

          @Lisi, While I admire the list you put forth and don't for a minute argue that these people didn't succeed in spite of opposition I would also suggest that perhaps they succeeded *because* of opposition. Sometimes in life obstacles are what make us great, wouldn't you agree?

          Can you imagine Abe Lincoln having the degree of empathy he had for the common man had he not been born a poor child of uneducated farmers? There is no doubt that genetics play a part in any persons path in life. Had Lincoln been born developmentally "challenged" there is no way he rises to the levels he did. But to suggest that he was "born" to be a leader is to suggest that Lincoln didn't take great pains to study (of his own accord) philosophy, history etc. What gave Lincoln, MLK, Newton the impetus to study and learn to the degree they did? I'd wager it wasn't genetics but other people. Undoubtedly, there were people in there lives that instilled in them a thirst for knowledge and awareness. This thirst is planted by other (previously) thirsty people. Are some "born" more thirsty than others? To a degree, perhaps but I really think it's the environment that makes the man.
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    Odundo Sidigu

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    Mar 11 2012: Great question.

    I would argue that formal education is a barrier to an entrepreneur's success. To an entrepreneur formal education is likely just a backup plan. It is not a particularly wise backup plan as formal education takes so much time and money. Every moment spent working towards this backup plan gets in the way of the primary goal of running a business.

    Many will argue that having degrees puts you in a better position to network and to be seen as professional. As for the second case, not having a degree does not carry as much stigma as it used to among entrepreneurs, particularly in Silicon Valley. Networking is one thing I would say formal education can assist an entrepreneur in. This has been shown by countless tech companies that emerged from college dorms. So college can be useful when it comes to starting a business.

    The fact is formal education is not geared towards entrepreneurs, people who need a specific set of skills. Moreover, with the amount of free information online, college is due for a reappraisal. It may not even be worth tens of thousands of dollars a year.

    The point I'd like to make is that in business there is an urgency to act as quickly as possible. Formal education can become a distraction and could leave a potential entrepreneur in debt and out of time. Focusing on one goal is more likely to lead to success.
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      Brant Scheifler

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      Mar 11 2012: I agree that whatever 'gift' is there to begin with, it must be cultivated into greatness. I suppose this can happen within the rigors and confines of academia or in the trenches of real world trial and error. (Perhaps ideally, both.)

      Also, I have to agree from personal experience that most college programs are not geared toward producing or equipping entrepreneurs, but geared toward producing corporate workers for large corporations. Disclosure: This was my personal experience and the same for other 'treps I know, perhaps not everyone's.
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    Bryann Alexandros

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    Mar 11 2012: Great question Brant.

    I'm gonna have to twist this a bit by saying yes, formal education can play a significant role for entrepreneurs because it shows them what's essential, and what is not, especially after the experience.

    There's two sides to the irony. First, it's not uncommon to hear school veterans confess that B-school inhibited more than helped. There's a difference between studying lots of theory and actually executing an idea. I think you'll find a lot of this resonates for young tech startup founders who forego the formal stuff and go straight into an incubator or accelerator instead, preferring to work side-by-side with angels and other veteran entrepreneurs.

    Second, entrepreneurs emerge a little more savvier in the types of people they choose and employ. Sometimes we need to assemble a small team with good chemistry to make ideas happen. Like Xavier's points below (above?), we would probably prefer someone with drive and some leadership qualities. Not a cog or a brown-noser.
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      Brant Scheifler

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      Mar 11 2012: Wow, great points. Specifically, new found access to accelerators and incubators (in lieu of formality) and also the perspective of hiring strong, trained talent. I think you hit on the entrepreneurial mindset right there. E.g., what's the quickest way from A to B, and how can I delegate and leverage in the smartest way possible. Great post.
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