Most business owners learn from practical experience. With university fees and costs at an all-time high, might young people with an entrepreneurial outlook be advised to skip university altogether?
After all, many of the UK's most successful entrepreneurs aren't graduates - including Peter Jones, Theo Paphitis, Duncan Bannatyne, Hilary DeVey, Richard Branson and Alan Sugar, to name a few.
However, going to university is not just about qualifications - it's also about developing life skills, and it can be the perfect place to make connections and explore possibilities. Would Facebook exist if Mark Zuckerberg hadn't gone to Harvard? Would Innocent Smoothies have been formed if its three founders hadn't met at Cambridge University?
Is an 18-year old who avoids university really ready to run their own business? What path should a young entrepreneur take? Rachel Miller asks three experienced entrepreneurs and an enterprise expert what they would recommend.
Simon Dolan, Dolan Accountancy
"A degree can be a hindrance. The further you go in education, the more narrowly defined you become. Come graduation, you've invested so much of your life in one subject area and amassed a wealth of knowledge, it's hard to imagine not doing something with that.
"With business courses, you tend to get a bit of law, some accounting, some marketing, etc. But business is simple - it's about selling something for more than you paid for it. You can buy in other skills - but you can't buy 'get up and go'.
"I wouldn't encourage setting up a business before gaining some workplace experience. You can learn a lot from working for others. When you start working - whether in an office or flipping burgers - you quickly pick up what's expected of you.
"It doesn't really matter what you do, every job involves selling something. You don't have to be a prima donna about the work you do - all experience is valuable.
"Very few businesses make money from an original idea. People point to innovative companies such as Google and Apple, but most companies do mundane things well. When I started my business, I modelled it on another firm - but I did it better."
- Simon Dolan is owner and founder of Caroola. His book, How To Make Millions Without A Degree, is available on Amazon.
Rajeeb Dey, Learnerbly
Rajeeb tells us that he would not have started his first business, Enternships, if he hadn't gone to university. "While I was there, I ran the Oxford University enterprise society. The experience was so valuable - we held weekly events, the committee was 18-strong, the budgets were considerable. It was like running a business. And I made awesome contacts - we invited speakers such as Peter Jones and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou.
"I started Enternships at Oxford, but it wasn't a business at first. With fellow students I created a basic listing site for Oxford undergraduates to find internships with small firms that were looking for entrepreneurial talent, but that didn't have milk-round resources.
"When I graduated, I saw an opportunity to turn it into a business, and Enternships was launched the following year. I always knew I wanted to run my own business and this was also a chance to do some good.
"Entrepreneurs don't need to have a degree. I have friends that didn't go to university that are running very successful businesses. Entrepreneurs are judged by what they do, it's a level playing field. But it's about what is right for you. If you're 18 and have a sound business idea and plan, there's a lot of support. If you're not ready, university offers experience and opens up opportunities.
"Of course, it also means considerable debt. Successive governments have sought to increase the numbers going on to higher education, but with increasing fees that may reverse. People are taking a long hard look at the value of degrees.
"Practical entrepreneurship courses can be useful, but the best way to learn is by actually doing things. Hard business skills can be taught, but it's harder to teach soft skills. A good way to learn about running a business is to work for a start-up - you see, first hand, the highs and lows. Many of our interns have gone on to set up their own business."
- Rajeeb Dey founded Enternships and then went on to found Learnerbly. He is also t. He graduated with first class honours in economics and management from Oxford University.
Julian Beer, Birmingham City University
"Going to university helps you develop many skills necessary for running a business - critical reasoning, research, learning how to communicate effectively. Above all, it aids confidence.
"When I was Pro Vice-Chancellor at Plymouth University, our approach to entrepreneurship was radically different to other universities. It runs the Growth Acceleration Investment Network offering all undergraduates the chance to set up their own businesses. It's a one-stop entrepreneurial shop, with access to resources, advice, funding and business contacts.
"Students can develop ideas and formulate a business plan, and get to meet inspirational people such as Doug Richards and Dominic List. It's about connecting students with ideas, money and support.
"You can teach hard skills, but students can also develop soft skills, such as negotiation, pitching ideas, making presentations and networking. They learn how to crystallise their ideas and abandon ones that won't work.
"Some students have always planned to be an entrepreneur, and they are up for everything their university can offer. Many students set up their own businesses while studying - making things, selling things and trading things.
"National stats on how many graduates go on to set up their own business were always difficult to track down, but we have lobbied hard for greater visibility. In 2016 5.6% of graduates went on to self-employment / freelancing, and another 0.6% were in the process of setting up their own business."
- Professor Julian Beer is Pro Vice-Chancellor at Birmingham City University.
Mike Southon
"It's not necessary to have a degree to become an entrepreneur, but it doesn't hurt. Learning is good, and a degree shows you have a skill. It's also a fantastic way to make contacts and gain life experience.
"The great irony is that many MBA courses that are meant to turn out entrepreneurs instead turn out merchant bankers and venture capitalists.
"At university you have the ideal opportunity to set up a business, with your mates as your first customers. You have time to do it. If I was an employer and interviewed a graduate who had run a venture at university and paid some of their debts off with revenue, I'd hire them. That means more than the usual academic achievements.
"You hear about so many entrepreneurs with dyslexia, people for whom formal learning doesn't work. Plenty of old-school entrepreneurs have learned on the job - real grassroots entrepreneurs.
"When you're young you should try as many things as possible and build up your contacts network. To start with, you don't know anything or anyone. You need to gain experience - that could be university or working - but you probably won't be ready to start a business straight away. 28 is a great age to start a business. What you need is gumption and the ability to bounce back."
- Mike Southon is a mentor, speaker and columnist. He is the author, with Chris West, of several books including The Beermat Entrepreneur and This is How Yoodoo It. He graduated with a 2:2 in chemical engineering and economics at Bradford University.
