How Curiosity Kills Entrepreneurs

Photo by Catherine Heath on Unsplash

At the university where I teach entrepreneurship, the start of the semester (which, as I write this, is right now), always brings a handful of emails that remind me of one of the biggest traps entrepreneurs fall into. The emails go something like this:

Dear Dr. Dinin,

I’m really interested in taking your class, but I’ve already reached the limit for the maximum number of credits I can earn this semester. Can I still take your class even if I’m not enrolled?

Sincerely,

Enthusiastic Student

I realize, at first glance, that kind of email doesn’t seem particularly problematic. It might even seem good. After all, what’s bad about students who are so interested in classes that they want to “learn for the sake of learning” regardless of whether they earn any credit? Aren’t those exactly the kinds of students schools want? More importantly, for the argument of this particular article, isn’t natural curiosity and an eagerness to learn exactly what we’d expect to find in a successful entrepreneur?

The answers to those questions are more complex than they might seem. Yes, entrepreneurs should be excited about learning for the sake of learning as opposed to earning any sort of direct credit or reward. But that same enthusiasm can derail potentially great entrepreneurs…