Is Entrepreneurship a Teachable Profession? An Examination of the Effects of Entrepreneurship Education and Experience

We examined the conflicting claims of Schumpeter, who stated that entrepreneurship is not a profession, and Drucker, who wrote that entrepreneurship is a discipline that can be learned (and presumably taught). We studied the effects of an entrepreneur’s education and experience on the startup and subsequent operating performance of a new venture. Taking entrepreneurship courses enhanced the amount of startup capital raised, but real-world experience enhanced it more. However, neither taking entrepreneurship courses nor learning how to write a business plan had any effect on the subsequent operating performance of the business. Previous entrepreneurship experience enhanced the amount of startup capital raised but did not improve the operating performance. In contrast, professional experience in general — rather than entrepreneurship-specific — gained after graduation before starting a business improved operating performance.