Idea Lawyer Blog

In his 1986 comedy flick, Back To School, Rodney Dangerfield plays a tough, up-from-the streets entrepreneur who winds up in the classroom of a snooty, hopelessly academic business professor. The professor blathers on about the theoretical costs of a business start-up until Rodney interrupts to tell him he’s forgotten a few things—like paying off the building inspectors and kick backs to corrupt union officials.

Humor thus makes a sharp point about the difference between academic theory and the realities of business life. For idea people thinking about turning ideas into profitable realities, it can indeed be challenging to get the right blend of practical and academic training.

If your goal is to start a traditional sort of business—a bakery or a bookstore—many trade associations run courses that cover the practical in a classroom-like setting. Later this month, for example, the American Bookseller Association will be holding a multi-day training session for aspiring bookstore owners at its annual BookExpo America in Los Angeles. (Los Angeles Convention Center, May 29th – June 1st).

Quality practical training is available from generally from trade associations. But what if your "Great Idea" is for a less traditional business—the kind of business where you’re inventing most of it as you go along?

A recent New York Times article Classroom as Incubator profiled a creative approach. Business schools blend the academic and the practical by sending their students out to work with entrepreneurs early in their (meaning both the students,' and the entrepreneurs’) careers—and the results look promising.
One example: three years ago a New Jersey chef with a great sauce recipe soon found himself with 35 students from a local college working on everything from marketing to R & D. Today, his company's thriving, with its sauces sold in some 400 stores. Not bad for an "academic" approach. . The students get “real world” training—and the entrepreneurs get the help of a lot of bright young students who are willing to tackle all the problems.

If you’re turning your idea into a business, hooking up with one of these new-style business school programs might be a way to obtain smart, energetic contributors without breaking your budget.