Why entrepreneurship cells in colleges are mostly ineffective
Short answer: because they are mostly run and governed by the professors who've zilch experience of running a business.
Long answer: I see that the latest fashion among almost all the engineering colleges in India is to set up an entrepreneurship cell. I'm not sure if the governing Universities or boards have made it compulsory for the colleges to run an entrepreneurship cell / incubator / accelerators - but someone informed me that colleges can claim some grants from the governments if they set up an incubator.
I think it's an incredibly bad idea!
First of all, I've nothing against setting up an entrepreneurship cell. I've problem with the following facts:-
Long answer: I see that the latest fashion among almost all the engineering colleges in India is to set up an entrepreneurship cell. I'm not sure if the governing Universities or boards have made it compulsory for the colleges to run an entrepreneurship cell / incubator / accelerators - but someone informed me that colleges can claim some grants from the governments if they set up an incubator.
I think it's an incredibly bad idea!
First of all, I've nothing against setting up an entrepreneurship cell. I've problem with the following facts:-
- Most of the entrepreneurship cells are managed and run by professors who've zero exposure to starting and running a business. They will give you advice from management books which you can't really use directly in your business.
- Most of the professors and lecturers are NOT aware of the startup world. They'd reject startup ideas based on their own gut-feeling. I'm pretty sure no professor would have allowed 'twitter' or 'instagram' - because they seemed to be pretty useless in the beginning.
- The e-Cells promise to get you in touch with investors. Most of the startup founders start believing that their first priority is to raise the capital and then build the product. It doesn't work and by the time they realise it; it's LATE!
Replies
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Ramani Aswath
Yes, Yes and Yes.Kaustubh Katdarethese are the three biggest contributors to the failure or ineffectiveness of the entrepreneurship cells in most of the colleges.
The entrepreneur must have the passion for his work. Like John Galt of Atlas Shrugged fame claimed, he should be willing to walk over the dead bodies of all and sundry to reach his goal.
I have interacted with some of these cells in the highest level of Engineering/Science institutions in India (I will not name them). Zilch happens.
Such incubators must be stand alone units run by people, who have gone through the entrepreneurship fire to which technical institutions can submit their inventions and stand in the queue.
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