Questions

I'm a 19 year-old entering University soon. Is there anything beneficial for a perspective entrepreneur that should not be missed in the university ?

4answers

So much depends on the internet that any up-and-coming entrepreneur would be wise to study some programming and web / app design.

Even if that's not your intended major and not what you'll be doing professionally one day, knowing how to code – if only in a very sketchy way – opens up a lot of doors. The basic principles are the same whether you're writing in Matlab, MySQL, HTML, jQuery, or whatever we're using when I wake up next.

You'll communicate better with the software engineers and designers you'd be hiring or working alongside. (Virtually inescapable nowadays.) And you'd be better able to keep up with changing terminology and techniques if you're grounded in something similar.

It can be quite useful to know how to publish content on your own self-created platform, troubleshoot IT problems, and invent new functionality. Programming is an act of incessant invention. Many of us find it a creative outlet and a lot of fun. You might or might not.

Apart from the practical benefits of learning to program, you'll simply end up knowing a little bit more why human civilization is what it is in the year 2015 onward.


Answered 9 years ago

1. Learn to network and really connect with people. The people you meet at University will be the people you have in your network in the decades to come. And in my experience as an entrepreneur these friends can be a tremendous asset and one that must be build with foresight.

2. Seek and find mentors.

3. Get started now creating businesses. It's never to soon to start. If you want to learn to be a successful employee - work for a successful business owner. If you want to learn to own successful businesses - become a business owner and learn the "how to" in the greatest school in the world for entrepreneurs... the school of hard knocks.

Best of luck!


Answered 9 years ago

If you are in a technical degree, I would highly suggest to complete a second diploma/certificate - in parallel - in business administration where you can get the basics of the 'business language' (law, finance, marketing, accouting, HR, etc.). That's what I did along with electric enegineering degree and I can tell you that afterwards, it gives you real advantage of understanding the real business issues behind the technical issues.
Also, I would highly suggest you to get in touch with your University Technology Transfer Office (TTO) who is in charge of commercializing great technologies coming out of your University. Entrepreneur shortage is high and you might have an opportunity to start a company without building the product from scratch once you are finished with your degree. My two cents, good luck!


Answered 7 years ago

Joseph has a very good answer. In my opinion there are two kinds of entrepreneurs: the technical and the non-technical. The technical entrepreneurs know how to code and bring to the table the ability to create amazing things, build websites, design, and all the other things a tech entrepreneur should know.

Then, there's the non-technical. This type of entrepreneur has to have a special ability to go out there and connect the dots. They use their skills in sales, biz dev, and marketing to gather the resources and people they need to create amazing business'. Basically, where the non-technical entrepreneur lacks skills, the technical entrepreneur has a wealth of knowledge in (and vice versa).

However, both types should have entry level knowledge on programing.

I help young minds become entrepreneurs by coaching them on taking actionable "next steps" to start businesses using their own ideas. Please let me know if you want any help, and I will gladly help you out.

My best,
Colin


Answered 9 years ago

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