It take more than theory
In Canada, many business schools and MBA programs are led by professors who lack real-world entrepreneurial experience. While they may be well-versed in theories, frameworks, and case studies, they often miss the core essence of entrepreneurship – the willingness to take risks, adapt to uncertainty, and build something from the ground up. Entrepreneurship is not just a subject to be taught; it’s a mindset and a lived experience. Without having taken real financial and strategic risks, these professors are fundamentally unqualified to teach what it truly means to be an entrepreneur.
The Problem with Theoretical Teaching of Entrepreneurship
Professors who have never started a business can teach students how to write a business plan, analyze case studies, or apply Porter’s Five Forces. However, they cannot prepare students for the unpredictability, resilience, and emotional rollercoaster of actually launching and scaling a business. They do not understand what it means to have personal capital on the line, to pivot when a business model fails, or to negotiate real-world deals with investors and customers.
Instead, what often happens in Canadian colleges and universities is that entrepreneurship courses become a collection of theories, checklists, and frameworks—far from the raw and dynamic reality of business building. The academic setting creates a false sense of security, teaching students to rely on outdated business plans rather than the iterative, fast-paced decision-making required in real entrepreneurship.
The Key Differences Between an Educator and an Entrepreneur
Below is a breakdown of the fundamental differences between traditional business educators and “real” entrepreneurs:
| Category | Traditional Business Educator | Entrepreneur |
| Risk Tolerance | Avoids personal financial risk; relies on salary security | Embraces risk, often self-funding ventures |
| Decision-Making | Follows structured decision-making based on models and theory | Makes fast, high-stakes decisions with limited information |
| Real-World Experience | No direct startup experience; relies on case studies | Lived experience in launching, growing, and sometimes failing businesses |
| Adaptability | Sticks to fixed curriculum and pre-determined teaching plans | Adapts to market changes, consumer needs, and emerging trends |
| Failure Management | Views failure as a hypothetical case study | Deals with real financial losses and learns from them |
| Innovation & Execution | Teaches innovation as a concept | Executes innovation by building products, services, and companies |
| Financial Stake | No personal money invested in business ideas | Often risks own capital and assets |
| Emotional Resilience | No direct exposure to the emotional highs and lows of business | Has experienced stress, failure, and resilience firsthand |
| Networking & Fundraising | Limited real-world investor connections | Negotiates with investors, raises capital, and builds business relationships |
Why Academics Are Not Qualified to Teach Entrepreneurship
- Lack of Risk Exposure – Professors operate in a risk-free environment. They don’t experience the pressure of making payroll, securing funding, or dealing with market shifts. Entrepreneurship is about risk-taking, and those who avoid risk cannot teach others how to embrace it.
- No Experience in Execution – Teaching business theories is vastly different from executing a startup idea. Entrepreneurs live in a world of action, where learning comes from doing, not just reading or analyzing.
- Failure as a Concept, Not a Reality – Academic instructors discuss failure in abstract terms through case studies, whereas entrepreneurs have actually failed, learned from mistakes, and built again. This firsthand experience is crucial in teaching resilience.
- No Skin in the Game – Academics earn their salaries regardless of whether their students succeed. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are deeply invested in their ventures. This personal stake creates an entirely different level of commitment and understanding.
- Outdated Curriculum vs. Market Realities – Business schools move at a slow pace, and by the time an entrepreneurship course is updated, market conditions have already changed. Entrepreneurs operate in real-time, adjusting their strategies as needed.
The Solution: Entrepreneurs as Educators
If Canadian colleges and MBA programs want to produce real entrepreneurs, they need to hire professors who have actually built and run businesses. Schools should:
- Recruit entrepreneurs, investors, and startup founders as faculty members or guest lecturers.
- Offer mentorship-based learning rather than just classroom instruction.
- Focus on experiential learning—students should launch real projects, raise funds, and test products in the market.
- Move away from business plan writing and towards agile, lean startup methodologies.
Entrepreneurship is not just about theory—it’s about action. And only those who have lived it in the trenches can truly teach it.
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