Entrepreneurship and education: a valuable partnership

The two spheres of entrepreneurship and education have occupied very different spaces for some time, with self-made entrepreneurs flying the flag for self-directed learning. Educators, on the other hand, bang the drum for formal education, as a means to add a feather to the cap of passionate young visionaries.

A stream of renowned entrepreneurs, who’ve ditched formal education, have bolstered the former viewpoint; with many CEOs dropping out of schools or universities and going on to become billionaires.

The most obvious of these is Mark Zuckerberg, who famously created Facebook from his Harvard dormitory, and yet, after the explosion in its popularity, left to become a full-time entrepreneur.

Other examples, including Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), Michael Dell (Dell) and Richard Branson (Virgin), provide further fuel for the self-made entrepreneurs’ fire.

But it would be foolish to be guided by the exceptions, or to confuse passion with education. Timing and luck will no doubt have also played a part in these modern innovators’ success stories, and not every entrepreneur will achieve their dreams through vision, drive and natural talent alone.

Some people will tell you education is vital to gain the skills you need to succeed, others will tell you it’s necessary for character-development and personal growth. Some will simply tell you not to waste your time.

The way I see it, the entrepreneurship journey is likely to be littered with unknowns, so simply having one iron in the fire has never been an option for me.

While my experience as the founder of Mozrt – an online music discovery app – may not be comparable with those technology sensations referenced above, far from removing myself from formal education I’m clear I need to complete my degree and then pursue an MBA.

The music industry, which is so pivotal to the success of Mozrt, is an extremely volatile, crowded, and more importantly, unpredictable market. Add to that the fact that the democratisation of technology wrought by the mobile web has made it easier than ever to succeed as an entrepreneur – and competition is fierce. Standing out from the crowd has never been so important.

In fact, being at university was, in many ways, a key part of the development of Mozrt. A moment of inspiration in the middle of my finance and business exam resulted in the Mozrt concept being created.

Having had the idea, I frantically wrote out a formula on the back of my exam paper and then enlisted the support of two tech-savvy peers to help in an all-night coding session to make the idea a reality.

However, despite the success of the business so far, staying on at university all relates back to credibility; credibility as a business person and credibility as an individual.

The success of Mozrt rests on the backing of venture capitalists and investors and, as the saying goes, people buy from people. For me, my offering and attractiveness as an individual is, I believe, significantly enhanced by having an academic track record.

Having a degree is a stamp of approval in that sense. Entrepreneurs who have an idea are often judged solely on their product or innovation but, to me, finishing my degree and pursuing an MBA will speak for itself.

University has also exposed me to new professional networks that I would not otherwise have had the opportunity to experience, and developed my ability to collaborate and think critically.

While it need not be a prerequisite for success in business, having an extra string to your bow will only ever result in adding value.

Gianni O’Connor a Coventry University student, will share his story at Digital 2014, a digital skills event in June