Pursuing a degree in MBA is believed to be sine qua non to hold a leadership position in the very competitive corporate world. To become a successful entrepreneur or to create new business, MBA degree is viewed as the most preferred education to have. However various studies and research have shown that holding an MBA degree is not a prerequisite for a successful entrepreneur. It makes one wonder about the success formula of certain thriving entrepreneurs like the founder of Apple Inc. Steve Jobs and the founder of the Virgin Group Sir Richard Branson who did not even have a formal education in business and have created history with their successful entrepreneurial ventures. This reconfirms the fact that a degree in MBA may not that essential for creating a success story by an entrepreneur.
Setting up of a new business or a venture from an idea entails a very different skill set and attitude as against managing an already established business or a going concern. The entrepreneur in a start-up always faces resource crunch. The start-ups are chaotic, loosely formed and systems & processes are not established. Firm belief, determination and perseverance of an entrepreneur keep him or her going.
An established business operates in a known market and there is an already identified customer base. This raises a pertinent question as to how a conventional educational degree in business can be of use for an Entrepreneur.
This is the reason why majority of the efforts towards education in entrepreneurship have not been so effective in terms of developing and transforming new ideas into a successful enterprise. Many business schools in India claim the success of entrepreneurs (who were their alumni) as their own contribution. However, a closer interaction will reveal that the entrepreneurs have unlearned many things from their MBA education and learned many other aspects not covered in the MBA course before tasting first success as an entrepreneur.
Many in the academics even question whether entrepreneurship can be taught in class room. Often examples of successful entrepreneurs including the founder of Apple computers Steve Jobs, and founder of Virgin group Richard Branson who did not have any formal education in business are cited. That really puts forth the question “do budding entrepreneurs need any sort of education
This could be really be true in the context of conventional class room teaching where learning his often rooted in theoretical models which are rather difficult to apply in the real world. This cannot be the best way to learn entrepreneurship, which by its inherent nature is real world. But that does not mean that entrepreneurship cannot be learned..
The right approach to entrepreneurship education should be such that every person with a innovative idea should get the full opportunity and support to develop his idea into a enterprise. “Idea to launch” should be the mantra of the approach.
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