Acton Answers: Why Entrepreneurial Guides?

OCTOBER 6, 2014

Part of the Acton experience is finding an entrepreneurial guide. Your guide may be a successful entrepreneur from an industry that in some way, shape, or form defines your steps forward.

The student-guide relationship is a vital part of the Acton entrepreneurial curriculum. Case learning and the Socratic method will help you put yourself in the shoes of an entrepreneur, and those methods of learning will even force you to act and think like a businessperson. While the skills you pick up in the classroom and on your own may be enough to help you win a few battles, there’s something extremely special about being able to speak to an already successful entrepreneur.

Most entrepreneurs are exceedingly busy, so when someone hands you their time, it’s important that you make the most of it. Whether it’s a quick phone call, a brief meeting, or a coffee break where you get to really sit down with your entrepreneurial guide and pick their brain, it’s imperative that students respect a guide’s time and use it well.

Here are a few reasons why an entrepreneurial guide will help your journey:

They’ve been where you are and are already where you want to go.
They’ve likely failed in some capacity, and they know what it takes to get back up.
They understand the time commitment and sacrifices involved in building a business from the bottom up.

All entrepreneurs have varying experiences, and those experiences are a treasure trove for would-be entrepreneurs. Since an entrepreneur’s time is both special and rare, the student-guide relationship may be a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience. Throughout your journey, you’ll likely meet other guides along the way, but the ones who were with you at the beginning will be the ones to influence your journey ahead.