This is a story about how education, formal and otherwise, shapes individuals.

After being pulled out of school at an early age, Balram is left with only bits
and pieces of a formal education. This leads him to refer to himself as a “half-
baked” or “half-cooked” Indian. He sees his “half-cooked” education not as a
weakness, but rather as one of the preconditions for an entrepreneurial spirit.
As an adult, Balram respects traditional learning to a degree. He enjoys the
proximity and physical presence of books, claims to learn more from “the road
and the pavement”
“The story of my upbringing is the story of how a half-baked fellow is
produced. But pay attention, Mr. Premier! Fully formed fellows, after twelve
years of school and three years of university, wear nice suits, join companies,
and take orders from other men for the rest of their lives. Entrepreneurs are
made from half-baked clay.”

successful entrepreneurship is more than just an outburst of passion or

even an act of will. It requires knowledge, skill, and opportunity that often
can only be found through academia.
Managing businesses today requires an interdisciplinary approach.
Knowing the fundamentals of economics can be crucial in evaluating
market conditions and trends, and adapting accordingly. 
while academic training is not a prerequisite for success, it is one of the
only avenues of receiving the well-rounded education needed for real-world
management.
Education is extremely important for
entrepreneurs but there are many ways in
which an entrepreneur can get an education –
and perhaps, in the conventional sense of the
term, meaning a formal academic education
that involves exams, coursework and going to
college… this might not be the best route for
aspiring entrepreneurs.
You can study to be an entrepreneur, as it’s not an innate talent that people are
born with, it’s a skill (or rather a group of skills) that can be developed by
anybody wishing to learn – that said, many entrepreneurs would argue that you
can’t learn to be an entrepreneur from a book, as it’s experiential learning that’s
required, particularly in developing the right mindset.

Therefore learning entrepreneurship within an academic context may not be the

smartest move, for entrepreneurs, as what they really need is to learn the skills
and tactics in the “real world” by doing. After all, you can be book smart and
know everything there is to know about a subject, yet if you can’t apply that
knowledge and influence people – the knowledge becomes redundant.

The most important points to take away are that education is extremely
important for entrepreneurs, yet academic education might not be the most
efficient and appropriate route; that plenty of entrepreneurs don’t have a
degree and are doing extremely well as a result – because their minds are
shaped differently; they haven’t been conditioned to think like a compliant
employee – but have had the freedom to think and feel like a business leader…
but there are times when the knowledge acquired from a formal degree can be
beneficial.

remember there’s no intrinsic value in having a higher education qualification –

the only way to make more money in life is to create more value to other
people and that’s where most successful entrepreneurs focus their time.
While it can be important for business owners and entrepreneurs to
attain qualifications related to the running of their businesses, it’s not
imperative. Some of the business world’s biggest names have only a
few qualifications, but have gone on to start up hugely successful
companies.

It’s well highlighted that some of the world’s top entrepreneurs started
their business after dropping out of higher education. One of the most
recent examples of this was Mark Zuckerberg, who created Facebook
from his dormitory and promptly quit college, when the social media
platform began to grow. Richard Branson, arguably one of the most
well-known entrepreneurs of our generation, was dyslexic and never
pursued a pathway through higher education.

Like Zuckerberg, Gates also went to Harvard. Page and Yang both
attended Stanford. Jobs only completed one semester at Reed College in
Portland, Oregon. Dell left the University of Texas at 19. Geffen dropped
out of three universities before launching his record label. Lauren went to
little-known Baruch College in New York State, but left after two years.
Branson, a mild dyslexic, never made it out of high school. And it’s not
clear if Ford founder Henry Ford ever had any formal education, outside
his training as a machinist.
The things needed to become an entrepreneur are passion, determination,
knowledge, self-discipline, and commitment. Appropriate training in
entrepreneurship will assist you becoming more prepared to face the business
world and take well-thought risks.

Script

The white tiger is a story about how education, formal and otherwise, shapes individuals.
Balram was pulled out of school at an early age leaving him with only bits and pieces of a formal
education.
He says “The story of my upbringing is the story of how a half-baked fellow is produced. But pay
attention, Mr. Premier! Fully formed fellows, after twelve years of school and three years of
university, wear nice suits, join companies, and take orders from other men for the rest of their
lives. Entrepreneurs are made from half-baked clay.”
He refers to himself as a “half-baked” Indian but doesn’t see his “half-cooked” education a
weakness, but rather as one of the preconditions for an entrepreneurial spirit.
As an adult, Balram respects traditional learning to a degree. He enjoys the proximity and
physical presence of books but claims to learn more from “the road and the pavement”
There is no doubt that Education is extremely important for entrepreneurs but there are many
ways in which an entrepreneur can get an education – and academic education might not be
the most efficient and appropriate route.
many entrepreneurs would argue that you can’t learn to be an entrepreneur from a book, as
it’s experiential learning that’s required, particularly in developing the right mindset. what they
really need is to learn the skills and tactics in the “real world” by doing. After all, you can be
book smart and know everything there is to know about a subject, yet if you can’t apply that
knowledge and influence people – the knowledge becomes redundant.
there are times when the knowledge acquired from a formal degree can be beneficial but
there’s no intrinsic value in having a higher education qualification –  the only way to make
more money in life is to create more value to other people and that’s where most successful
entrepreneurs focus their time.

While it can be important for business owners and entrepreneurs to attain qualifications
related to the running of their businesses, it’s not imperative. Some of the business world’s
biggest names have only a few qualifications, but have gone on to start up hugely successful
companies.
was Mark Zuckerberg, who created Facebook from his dormitory and
promptly quit college, when the social media platform began to grow.
Richard Branson, arguably one of the most well-known entrepreneurs
of our generation, was dyslexic and never pursued a pathway through
higher education.