I recently had the honor of interviewing the Managing Director at one of the top entrepreneurship academic institutions in the world, and it inspired me to take a closer look at one of most controversial topics in entrepreneurial education: “Are entrepreneurs born or trained?”

Janet Strimaitis joined the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship at Babson in 2003, and before that she was an entrepreneur herself. Her personal business experience and involvement in detailed global entrepreneurial research programs led her to the following perspective, “Babson believes that entrepreneurship is a method that can be taught”, but she cautions, “Entrepreneurship is not formulaic. It is an interactive process informed by action learning and subsequent modification. It is a rich experience, and the entire field is now recognized in academia as something worth pursuing. It has gained credibility in the top academic institutions.”

The list of successful entrepreneurs in Babson’s “Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs” certainly supports this premise.

In a Bloomberg article by Karen E. Klein, entrepreneurial consultant John J. Rooney, stated “In my experience working with hundreds of entrepreneurs and teaching on the faculty at the University of Southern California’s entrepreneur program, it is clear that much of entrepreneurship can be successfully learned. However, it is also clear that people who take positive action and are focused and committed and continue on despite some negative feedback or setbacks have skill sets and personality traits that can be inborn or learned.” (more…)

Trying to decide which college acceptance letter to open first? We have an alternative idea: Tear them all up. Forget about college.

While we certainly think college has a place, the fact is higher ed isn’t for everyone. If you consider college the means to starting your business, answering these questions can shed a new light on your decision.

1. Can you learn your field only in college? If your entrepreneurial dream involves something like opening a cutting-edge surgery center—where you’ll personally be doing some of the cutting—our crystal ball shows college in your future.

If, however, your passion lies in running and not necessarily participating in your business, you can learn more about business doing business than studying it in college. Unfortunately, you may have difficulty entering the workforce without a degree, as many non-degree holders will affirm.

2. Do you already have a product or service you’d like to bring to market? Waiting at least four years before bringing your idea to market could be its death knell. After all, why wait when PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel may give you $100,000 to start your business if you skip college? (more…)