Just be driven

I am suggesting some interesting Fortune links that I would like to share with startup entrepreneurs that make the bulk of my reader base.

Innovate like Edison

If you're reading this with the help of an electric light, it's worth pausing to remember that it was Edison's remarkable innovation that made it possible. Edison's landmark success with the incandescent light bulb and his development of an entirely new system for distributing and monitoring electric power changed the world forever. It is fitting that the light bulb is now a universal metaphor for a bright idea. Read more here.

Can entrepreneurship be taught?

Taking an entrepreneurship class isn't likely to turn a student with no business smarts into an opportunity-spotting, moneymaking genius. Yet plenty of anecdotal evidence suggests that the classes can speed the learning curve for those with the right stuff. On the most fundamental level, the programs can teach students basic skills, such as managing financials or writing a business plan, forcing them to impose a structure and deadlines on dreams that they might never achieve otherwise.

Or do you think it has to be in your DNA…? Find out here.

School of hard knocks

Meeting great entrepreneurs is one of the advantages of attending an entrepreneurship program. Students at the University of St. Thomas, for instance, recently had a chance to soak up some hard-won lessons from Microsoft's Bill Gates and Richard Schulze, founder of electronics retailer Best Buy, at a session moderated by Christopher Puto, dean of the St. Thomas College of Business, and venture capitalist Ann Winblad, co-founder of Hummer Winblad.

Here's the link to that chat.

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