When we think about entrepreneurs, we think about ideas, investments, risks and the courage to start. But entrepreneurship begins much earlier. Before the first venture, there is a mindset. Before the first business decision, there is the ability to question, solve, adapt, take responsibility and keep going when things do not go as planned.

And sometimes, the person shaping that mindset is not a founder, investor or business mentor. It is a teacher. This Teachers’ Day, perhaps the more interesting question is not what students are learning, but how they are learning to think.

Are we preparing them only to find opportunities or to create them?

The Gap Between Knowing and Doing

Dr. Jaykumar Shukla, an academician, event management professional and founder of Jayveer Entertainment and Events, sees education from both sides, academia and the real-world demands of business.

For him, the biggest challenge is not access to knowledge, but applying it when there is no textbook answer.

“The biggest gap is not a lack of knowledge, but knowing what to do with it and how to put that knowledge into context. Students may have the information, but the real challenge is learning how to translate that knowledge into action when situations are uncertain, incomplete or constantly changing.”

That is where classrooms and businesses often operate differently. A classroom can provide the problem. Business often requires you to find the problem first.

A customer changes the brief. A plan fails. A market moves. A decision has to be made with incomplete information.

There is no answer sheet.

And that is why entrepreneurial thinking starts with more than knowing. It starts with questioning.

Are We Teaching Better Questions?

For Dr. Shukla, education has an opportunity to move beyond simply finding the right answer.

“The purpose of education should be to help students ask better questions. Instead of only asking what the correct answer is, students should be encouraged to ask why the problem exists, whether it is the right problem to solve, and what different perspectives might reveal.”

That shift is fundamental to entrepreneurship.

Instead of asking, “What is the correct answer?”, a student learns to ask, “Is this the right problem?”

Instead of “What should I write?”, they begin asking, “Why does this matter?”

Better questions can lead to better decisions. And sometimes, better decisions can lead to better businesses.

When Experience Becomes the Teacher

But asking questions is only one part of the equation. Students also need opportunities to test their thinking.

Gajanan Pawar of Kreeda Tantra believes this is where experiential learning becomes powerful.

“Experience is what turns knowledge into behaviour. A student may understand the importance of communication, teamwork or leadership in a classroom, but it is through real experiences that they discover how those behaviours actually work when there is pressure, uncertainty or a problem that does not have an obvious solution.”

A textbook can explain teamwork. A real challenge makes students practise it. Someone has to lead. Someone has to listen. Someone has to make a decision. Everyone has to own the outcome. That is where knowledge moves from the classroom into the real world.

What Sports Teach About Entrepreneurship

Sports create another environment where these behaviours come alive. There is a goal, a strategy and a team. But the game rarely follows the plan.

Pawar explains:

“Sports do not automatically create entrepreneurs, but they create situations where entrepreneurial behaviours can be practised. Players have to communicate, make decisions, trust one another, adapt their strategy and respond when something does not go according to plan. Those are behaviours that matter in entrepreneurship and leadership as well.”

The lesson is not that every sportsperson will become an entrepreneur. It is that sports create opportunities to practise decision-making, accountability, teamwork and adaptability—skills that matter when the real game is business.

Failure Is Only Valuable If You Learn From It

Every founder eventually discovers that not every idea works. Sports teach the same lesson. But failure itself is not an achievement. What happens after it is.

“Failure becomes useful when it is followed by reflection, learning and another attempt. Losing a game is not the end of the experience. The important questions are what happened, what can be learned from it, what could be done differently and whether we are willing to try again.”

Dr. Shukla adds an important perspective.

“I do not want to romanticise failure. Failure can be difficult, and it should not be treated as something that is automatically valuable. But when failure is accompanied by reflection, it can become an important learning experience. Students need safe spaces where they can experiment, make mistakes and understand what those mistakes are teaching them.”

That is a lesson entrepreneurship understands well. You do not always win the first bet. But you learn what the next bet should look like.

The Skill That Outlives Every Skill

Technology will change. Industries will change. Business models will change. The ability to keep learning may therefore matter more than any single skill.

For Dr. Shukla, the answer is simple:

“The students who thrive may not necessarily be those who know the most today, but those who can learn quickly, question intelligently and adapt thoughtfully. The future will require students to continuously update their thinking, especially as technology and AI change the nature of work.”

Pawar sees the answer through action.

“Students need more opportunities to learn by doing, reflecting and trying again. Open-ended challenges, projects, simulations, sports, team activities and real-world problems can create controlled uncertainty where students learn to make choices, take responsibility and adapt.”

Different perspectives. The same conclusion: The future belongs to people who can keep learning.

The Teacher Behind the Entrepreneur

Not every student will become an entrepreneur. And education does not need to turn every student into one. But every student will eventually face uncertainty. They will make decisions without complete information. They will work with people who think differently. They will experience failure. They will have to adapt when the plan changes.

Teachers can prepare them for that reality without ever teaching them how to build a company. They can teach them to question instead of simply accept. To experiment instead of fear of mistakes. To take responsibility instead of waiting for instructions, to reflect instead of simply move on. And to keep learning when the old answers no longer work.

Perhaps that is the real connection between teacher and entrepreneurship. A teacher may never teach a student how to raise capital, acquire customers or build a business. But they can shape something that comes before all of it – the mindset to navigate uncertainty and the confidence to figure things out.

Because businesses are built with ideas, capital and execution. But behind every successful founder is something harder to measure: the way they think. And sometimes, that thinking was shaped years before the first business idea—by a teacher who encouraged one more question, one more attempt and one different way of looking at the world.

This Teachers’ Day, perhaps the best way to celebrate that influence is to recognise the teachers who did more than teach lessons—they helped shape the minds that went on to build.

Discover more stories, ideas and perspectives shaping Gujarat’s entrepreneurial ecosystem on ⁠Gujpreneur.