4 Reasons Why Entrepreneurship Instructors Should Reconsider Required Textbooks Educators don't need a textbook to teach innovation and entrepreneurship.

By Mike Seper

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

It had always been a dream while studying entrepreneurship as an undergraduate to succeed in business and return to teach the next generation of students someday. For me that dream came true, and the end of this semester has provided time to reflect on my impact. Innovation and entrepreneurship are exciting areas for exploration from everyone, from incoming undergraduates to tenured faculty.

No matter the discipline, everyone in academia should be excited to advance entrepreneurship to support startups in their community and across the United States. But while I enjoy reading books on innovation and entrepreneurship, the thought of having my students purchase textbooks to learn to be more entrepreneurial is not an approach that ever worked for me, and my classes require no textbooks.

Textbooks for innovation or entrepreneurship cannot give a formula for success

Steve Blank, author of The Four Steps to the Epiphany, founder of the Lean LaunchPad, and designer of National Science Foundation I-Corps (NSF I-Corps) and Hacking for Defense classes, is famous for telling students to "Get Out of the Building!"

This philosophy resonates with me as a student and instructor because it drives me to discover what separates successful entrepreneurs from everyone else. When I was an undergraduate student at the University of Hawaii, funds were tight and textbooks were much less of a priority than ensuring my pantry had at least a pack of ramen and a can of spam for my next meal. It is amazing how being a hungry entrepreneur, both literally and metaphorically, is a great motivator to attend classes and maximize office hours with an instructor.

Related: Why Entrepreneurship Is the Engine of Economic Development

The answers entrepreneurs seek are not found in textbooks

The mindset shift from looking for answers in a book to asking questions of others allows a natural mentorship to form between a professor and a student eager to start a business. This type of guidance helped set the stage for both my success as a student and an entrepreneur. The lessons I learned during office hours were much more valuable than anything I learned from a textbook. These interactions with my previous professors helped me become a better instructor. Talking to anyone can be difficult at first, but building a relationship showed that my instructors had compassion for my financial situation and enjoyed seeing me in class every day. As an instructor, it is energizing to see students eager to learn and apply those lessons to the student-led ventures they are building, every minute they are not in the classroom.

Being open to feedback in entrepreneurial endeavors sets the stage for success

As entrepreneurs, we all feel that we should know everything about our ventures and what it will take to succeed, but that is rarely the case. We are always learning by testing a hypothesis and striving to discover what we do not know. Innovation and entrepreneurship start by determining the current state, the status quo and building upon a foundation of discovery made by others. Suppose we want to advance any innovative endeavor. In that case, we need to be willing to accept that our assumptions are likely wrong and speak to everyone we can to test a hypothesis, then validate or invalidate what we thought as we pivot towards something that people are willing to buy.

Related: 4 Myths About Entrepreneurship You Need to Stop Believing

Textbooks do not contribute to building a community

Instead of textbooks, teachers should try experiential learning opportunities. For example, there is a learning opportunity called customer discovery, which empowers teams to distill a dozen interviews and present their findings to the entire class every week. If teams cannot complete interviews, then it is impossible to validate a hypothesis. Everyone is accountable for making customer discovery a priority and required to present what they learned.

It is wonderful to see more entrepreneurial educators skip the textbooks and engage students to build a community. The ultimate experiential learning opportunity starts with talking with customers, so it is time for entrepreneurial educators to end the required reading on launching a new venture.

Related: 5 Steps to Bringing Your Entrepreneurship Idea to Life

Mike Seper

University Program Director at Washington University

Mike Seper is a startup founder, writer and National Security Innovation network member. Seper serves on Harris-Stowe State University's Entrepreneurship Advisory Board, GXM and represented Washington University in the Kauffman Foundation Heartland Communities of Practice.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

JPMorgan Shuts Down Internal Message Board Comments After Employees React to Return-to-Office Mandate

Employees were given the option to leave comments about the RTO mandate with their first and last names on display — and they did not hold back.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

'More Soul-Crushing Than Ever': Popular Hiring Platform Finds Around 20% of Its Postings Were 'Ghost Jobs'

Is that job listing too good to be true? There's a one-in-five chance that it might be.

Growing a Business

5 Risk-Taking Lessons From Founders Who Bet Big and Won

Discover the bold moves and strategic risks that catapulted these entrepreneurs to success. Learn how their fearless decisions can inspire your own path to growth.

Business News

'Masculine Energy Is Good': Mark Zuckerberg Tells Joe Rogan He Thinks Companies Need More Aggression

On the most recent episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said corporate culture has become "neutered."

Business Models

I Transformed My Company With Employee Ownership — Here's Why You Should Too

As a business leader who recently decided to transition to an employee-owned business model, I'm sharing insights into the vast benefits for both the business and employees based on first-hand experience.