What is worth more: school of life or university?
Should you invest your money in a startup, or further education?
Wednesday, December 01 2010 || Investment || BY Tom Donovan
Graeme Hart completed his MBA in 1987 — after he’d been in business some time, but before his company, Rank, really took off. Peter Leitch is probably the best Kiwi example of the classic dropout success story, but he’s a rarer breed than many might think.
Deciding to create a startup can be scary although the less experienced you are, the less you know about what you’re up against. But with the opportunities for further education available, is it worth putting money into tuition that could be used for your startup?
For a person with an idea, time is money. The sweet spot for market entry can come and go so quickly; taking a year or two to learn about what you’re getting into (and spending tens of thousands of dollars doing so) seems crazy in the light of the desire to grow and start selling now.
However, that is only one side of the story and a bit of time back in the classroom doesn’t just offer hours of theory. At top business schools, the opportunities present are more than academic, says Vicki Little, senior lecturer in the department of marketing at the University of Auckland.
“It’s not so much what you learn, it’s who you learn it with,” says Little, who has lectured in executive programmes for 15 years. “But you’ve got to have that innate desire and self-confidence to create something, because a business is a creation.”
Bill Day, CEO of Seaworks, has done the MBA thing, but agrees the value you get depends on the individual. “You can teach techniques and you can develop talent, but the basic thing is, you either have it or you don’t.”
And what about people who don’t? “They end up getting a million and one ways to analyse a project, and never do it … they’re too scared to actually bloody get out there,” says Day.
He may be right. Another degree won’t make an entrepreneur out of you, but that’s not to say there’s no value to be gained.
I set out to study postgrad business because I had my science degree, but wasn’t interested in lab work. I wanted to interact with people, and build relationships that could help grow businesses. As it happened, the University of Auckland announced a master’s in bioscience enterprise just as I was graduating.
Industry-specific business training is a new phenomenon. A one-size-fits-all MBA isn’t cut out for increasingly specialised industries that demand technical familiarity of their management. The thing was, though, while my degree boosted my knowledge and confidence, it didn’t make me more of an entrepreneur. In fact, it made me realise I wasn’t one.
But that was just as important to know. It let me focus on what my strengths really were, and given a rewind button, I’d still put my money with further education. The clarity about my abilities and interests gave me direction, and the impetus to chase after a career. Not as the entrepreneur I’d originally envisioned — but if I’d had that particular passion from the start, I know I still would have valued the skills and knowledge further education gave me.
Couple of articles on the issue
http://yourhiddenpotential.co.uk/2010/12/18/why-entrepreneurs-need-a-formal-education/
http://blog.bwagy.com/why-entrepreneurs-should-go-to-university/
Posted by Graeme at 10:37 on December 19, 2010
I agree with Larrikin. It's the unstoppable passion, which also gives you the guts to go out and do it, that matters most. As an entrepreneur (a university drop out version :-) ) I find that I'm naturally drawn to doing targetted further education when I realise I'm at the point that I need it. This could be anything from financial analysis to social media. And the method of educatiion could be through reading highly recommended books (research on Amazon) or taking part time courses online or off.
There are plenty of opportunities to network with other entrepreneurs outside the confines of a university course. Networking with people in your target market is even more useful!
Posted by Chris Lindley at 19:41 on December 11, 2010
This is an interesting article. There is no doubt that the academic approach has its merits. However there is a living graveyard of academic derelicts who never made it to the achievers radar. Those that succeed with no formal education are up there with those who succeed with them. The one thing they have in common is their unstoppable passion. An unstoppable passion is the catalyst between an idea and an awesome outcome. Those that focus more on their unstoppable passion will significantly outperform those who think its knowledge that gets you to the top.
Posted by Larrikin at 09:55 on December 1, 2010
Well said Larrikin - Unstoppabe Passion! I only completed low level tertiary study but have had fantastic practical work experience and thefore believe education comes in many forms as long as you are open to learning. I have been fortunate to learn from the best in the varying industries and roles I have secured and at each stage of my life take time to re-assess my career path including the possible need for extra-mural study. For me, the best teacher is one who not only writes the textbook on 'how to screw the lightbulb in' but can tell you about the many times they were nearly electrocuted doing it and learnt from the experience!
Posted by Anonymous at 04:32 on January 12, 2011
ReplyFlag abuse