No such thing as a dumb question? How do you explain this one:
Are entrepreneurs born that way, or can they be taught?
The only thing this question is good for is generating trumped-up traffic with a catchy headline. Because this isn’t an either-or question. It’s both, and all of the above, case by case, and obviously entirely in gray, not black or white.
Still, Google it, and you’ll find experts galore arguing one way or another.
The truth? Self evident. It depends. Some people succeed without any training or education, some people fail despite the best training and education. Ask the same question about olympic athletes, chess champions, artists: born or taught? Some of both, obviously, in varying degrees, all case by case.
What I really hate is using the born-not-taught argument to dismiss education. “Don’t study business. Just start one.” That nonsense that makes headlines and deludes people. Entrepreneurial education will and has increase the incidence of startups in a community. And millions of people start, run, and grow businesses without business education.
Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software and Bplans.com. Follow him on Twitter @Timberry.
