I went to business school, took entrepreneurship classes, and the business I started is profitable and has been operating for over a decade. I feel somewhat qua

I went to business school, took entrepreneurship classes, and the business I started is profitable and has been operating for over a decade. I feel somewhat qualified to speak on this. When my friends and I decided to start a business based on my idea, I was finishing my PhD in physics and had no idea how to run a business -- no knowledge of accounting, management, marketing... I didn't know the difference between debt and equity. I took classes at the business school of my university. It gave me the quick and dirty knowledge I needed to get it started. Among the classes I took in entrepreneurship at business school, I wrote my first business plan, learned breakeven analysis, spoke to entrepreneurs, got mentors, got connections to investors, employees, patent lawyers, eventual board members, did my first market research, which involved speaking to successful entrepreneurs in my field, I could go on... The resources available to a student at a university are incalculable valuable to someone who knows how to use them. If all you do is sit in class and accept what they tell you, you won't get much out of business school. You probably won't be great at starting a business either. Business school entrepreneurship programs deserve criticism and could do better than they do, but few of the comments on this thread hit them. All fields' best teacher is experience, not just entrepreneurship. School gives a foundation -- no more no less. Everyone in every field learns more in the real world than sitting in classes, or nearly so. That doesn't mean school can't help. To say no class can teach you how to start a business misses what they can do. They can teach you the overall process, connect you to networks that can provide resources like capital, labor, business services, marketing, experienced and connected mentors, prestige, and so on. They can give you perspective on wider business issues beyond start-ups. They can help you understand what happens after the start-up phase. The programs may not be for everyone, but that means they aren't a match for all, not that they have inherent problems. After my business was up and running I went back to finish my MBA -- a decision based on experience and knowledge.