Entrepreneurship is one of those things that people often think you either have or you don’t. It’s not something you can learn in a classroom but that’s forged in the marketplace.
A few years ago I covered a study that examined this in more detail. It suggests that it is very much a skill that can be learned, with the ability to think in an entrepreneurial way something that exists within most of us, even if we don’t know it. It suggests that action orientated training can help to unlock this potential and unleash the entrepreneur in us all.
An alternative perspective is given by a second study, which suggests that there is not really any difference between experience based learning or class based learning.
Learning to be an entrepreneur
The analysis looked at traditional courses and compared them to those who focus more on learning by doing. The study aimed to explore whether the trend towards experiential learning in entrepreneurship had merit or not.
“Entrepreneurship education is seen as a major force capable of generating long-term socio-economic changes through developing entrepreneurial, creative, flexible and wise individuals. There is an ongoing shift towards experiential learning in business schools, yet there is little empirical evidence to suggest this approach has better impact than traditional learning,” the author says.
“This study has shown, contrary to our expectations that ‘learning-by-doing’ approaches do not necessarily lead to better outcomes for students, and were even found to have adverse effects in some instances,” they continue.
A third study, from North Carolina State University suggests that a growth mindset is the key ingredient for successful entrepreneurship. The researchers worked with a few hundred volunteers who were each shown a number of growth mindset videos that aimed to boost their belief that with the right time, effort and energy, they could improve their entrepreneurship ability. A second, control group was shown similar videos outlining various misconceptions about entrepreneurship.
While the performance of the two groups largely remained static after the intervention, what did change was the self-efficacy of the group who had watched the growth mindset videos. Their confidence levels rose considerably, and they believed in their ability to spot new business opportunities and develop new products more than before. What’s more, they also recorded higher levels of persistence than before in the face of the various challenges that are inevitable when starting a business.
Teaching entrepreneurship
Adopting some of these teachings, it’s perhaps no surprise that a number of courses have emerged to help teach entrepreneurship. For instance, a few years ago, a new online postgraduate course in the topic was launched on the FutureLearn MOOC platform by Deakin and Coventry universities.
The course was been designed to ensure maximum participation from students around the world, and aimed to draw on research, teaching and practical know-how from faculty at both universities. The course is driven by a combination of employability and digital innovation.
Similarly, a new platform has been launched by IESE Business School to help support deep tech entrepreneurs. Whereas the previous course focused on the elements of running a business, the IESE platform focuses instead on a single aspect: raising capital.
IESE argue that many patents remain dormant because investors are reluctant to take on such uncertain projects. As such, the platform aims to accelerate the investment readiness of those companies through 37 open online courses (24 are already live) and materials on topics such as pitching in front of investors, designing business models, analyzing customer feedback, leveraging trends in the healthcare or fintech sectors, valuing the company, and more.
The platform gathers insights from international experts in leading corporations and investment firms such as Marvin Liao (500 Startups), Smriti Vicari (Visa), Francesca Wuttke (Almirall), Alexis Brion (Allianz), Enrique Dupuy (Telefónica), Gabriel Perdiguero (Iberia), Francisco Jeronimo (IDC), Clara Pombo (ClarkeModet), Aquilino Peña and Juan Lopez Santamaria (Kibo Ventures), Itxaso de Palacio (Notion.vc), Oriol Juncosa (Encomenda Smart Capital), Josemaria Siota (IESE), Isaac de la Peña (Conexo Ventures), to name a few.
