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Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?
By Adam | March 29, 2007
Over the past few years there has been an increasing debate surrounding entrepreneurship and education . Can it be taught? Is it innate? Should you go to school for it or should you simply start a business? Does an MBA provide more clout than a few years with a gritty startup? Though there are no easy (or right) answers to any of these questions, there are intriguing discussions happening on both sides.
See the video below for Randy Komiar’s take on the issue. As a partner at KPCB and Consulting Professor of Entrepreneurship at Stanford – he brings an interesting perspective to the table.
What do you think?
Topics: Ideas |
March 30th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Randy Komiar raises somes interesting points. The way I interpret his view, which is also what I believe, is that an entrepeneur can be likened to a successful athlete.
Only so much of the sport can be taught. You can learn the mechanics behind throwing a football or shooting a hockey stick. You can learn the strategy behind what makes a successful running game.
Ultimately though, an individual’s success at the sport comes from that person’s drive and determination to succeed. They could have all the tools they would ever need for the sport, but if the drive isn’t there, they will fail.
This analogy can be used for entrepeneurship as well. It can be taught to a point, but it takes a person’s ambitions to vault it forward.
March 30th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
Curt, thanks for your thoughts. I tend to agree with both you and Randy. Additionally, I believe that we are all born with innate skills that ultimately guide us in a certain direction in life. An NFL football player was likely good at the game the first time he threw a ball around in the park as a kid; an engineer likely had a knack for numbers before they enrolled in University; etc, etc.
For me it is the combination of these natural abilities (which shape our direction), drive (which accelerates are chances for success), and education (which provides the context for our skills and drive) that makes someone truly exceptional in a given pursuit.
This is not to say that you have to go to school for the education component. The foundation of knowledge can be built in various ways: academically, via mentors, through interactions, and with good old experience.