Can entrepreneurship be taught? That’s something that has occupied my mind so many times I can’t count it with two hands. I am a student of Chartered Accountancy but that was really my father’s decision (I don’t blame him though). But the spirit of entrepreneurship is something that has always kept me company.
As a child, I would dream of leading a huge company in the Tech/Media space. I read dozens of business-related books, have subscriptions to multiple business-related newsletters, and even find myself holding business-related discussions with other like-minded people.
The real question now is – Can Entrepreneurship be taught? Can I complete my Bachelors in Accountancy but delve straight into the core of the business? Can you work on your own business and somehow light up that spirit hiding within you?
The MaRs Discovery District reckons that while entrepreneurship can’t be taught in the traditional sense i.e. universities and colleges. The main premise behind why entrepreneurship cannot be taught relates to the uncertainty in the field itself.
College’s facade against Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is exciting for the creators but a nightmare for colleges. One second you feel the cat’s in the bag, the next another creator will come up with an absurdly weird technology that’ll throw all the years of research out of the window.
Think Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Elon Musk – all of these innovators had absurd ideas for the future and nearly everyone wrote them off. Also, these people didn’t have formal learning that was in the business industry.
Jobs studied engineering, then dropped out. Gates was enrolled in a pre-law major while Musk pursued a Ph.D. in Energy Physics. Yet, all three managed to build multi-billion-dollar companies. Heck, Apple even went as far as to become the first trillion-dollar company.
There have been numerous debates on the effectiveness of formal education in churning up world leaders. But isn’t it strange that so many of the billionaires we see these days don’t even have any training/education in the business sector?
From degree-based demand to skills-based demand
In recent years, there has been a paradigm shift in the HR industry. While previously jobs were filled with people who had glittering education from some top, ivy-league university, these days, the focus is on actual skills.
And youngsters are on the bandwagon too. If you thought Tik Tok had them occupied, then, unfortunately, you’ve been consuming the wrong tabloids.
More than 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the U.S. alone. As under-developed nations catch on, this number will only increase. Add to it the fact that the majority of those students struggle to pay college tuition due to the infamous student debt trap – the situation will get worse, for good or for the better?
Modern-day technology has made things easier, or has it?
While I agree with the fact that access to technology has made it easier for people to start a business – literally from the comfort of their own homes – I still believe that in a way, the space is too crowded and so any new entrants will need an extra dose of creativity to even make it.
90% of startups fail in the first year alone. To all the moms and dads who believe their kids should just start a business out of thin air, take a second to ponder. This access isn’t just to me and you. It’s available to the entire world.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if every country in the world had a weapon of mass destruction? This access to technology is also the same weapon – it just serves a different purpose and its effects are different.
So can entrepreneurship really be taught?
I personally don’t agree with this point. Entrepreneurship is too dynamic a field to control and seeing the rather conservative approach of colleges, I don’t believe they can handle this kind of dynamism.
Entrepreneurship is rather an intrinsic trait – which I believe can be harnessed through one-on-one coaching; either spiritual or business.
Don’t take it the wrong way. Schools and colleges can definitely contribute to the long-term success of individuals by building certain qualities for example leadership, teamwork. But their theory-oriented principles just don’t work on people who need a practical way to experience this intrinsic quality.
Online resources to improve Entreprenuership
This field requires dynamic networks to work with. Those include:
- YouTube
- Micro-learning through an online provider
The interesting thing about entrepreneurship is that people learn more from face-to-face, interactive learning. What better place than Google, then! You literally have dozens of individuals from all over the globe sharing their perspectives on this and so many other topics.
All you need to do is find someone who resonates with you. Someone who shares the same values and the same beliefs as you.
Some other places you can go and build your entrepreneurial capability are:
- Y-Combinator Startup School – This is a free online resource that has a full roadmap for learning the ins and outs of startup culture. I chose this because of that free aspect.
- Furlough – Furlough is a discord-based community that is built on the phrase “Growth through Collaboration”. I have been part of it for a year now and it’s safe to say it’s THE place that helped me gain clarity on long-term goals and in a way influenced me to go out and build PlayTru now!
Whatever resource you use or community you become a part of, the core principles will remain the same. We will talk about the right kind of mindset you need to have but the one thing that you need to stop doing is to hold back on your dreams and aspirations. We’re at a funny paradox honestly as we have so much to choose from but are confused as to what to choose.
I very much hold by my stance that entrepreneurship cannot be taught and we all have to do our parts to gain that power. At the end of the day, the qualities I believe every entrepreneur should have are those of patience and determination.
Work on these two qualities to harness the true power of Entrepreneurship
Patience – We all have our own journey and so we have to be patient through it. Don’t rush things. Enjoy the little moments of life. Avoid the nonsense of hustle culture and listen to what your heart says.
Determination – Entrepreneurship isn’t a straight road. There are lots of twists and turns – that you have to overcome in order to get to the peak. If you’re determined, you’ll remain unfazed throughout!
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