There are some awe-inspiring tales of entrepreneurship where young men give up on higher education to start businesses that earn them billions.
A case in point is Bill Gates of Microsoft, the richest man in the world. Two men of similar pedigree are now challenging him with Google.
So should the founder-entrepreneur stick with their baby all the way, as the myth would have it?
Noel Wasserman, a Harvard Business School assistant professor, has studied the facts and found the truth differs from the myth. According to his data, the percentage of founder-CEOs who "go the distance" is extremely low, especially in high-potential ventures'.
According to Wasserman, Gates and Larry Ellison of Oracle stand out from the crowd in being able 'to lead their companies for quite a while'.
However, when Trinity Ventures looked at its successful companies over different dimensions it observed: 'The one trait of all our successful companies was that the CEO we backed at funding was still the CEO at the sale of the company or IPO (Initial Public Offer)'.
Trinity has learnt 'the need to believe that the existing CEO could bring the company to a successful outcome'.
Apple's Steve Jobs came to the conclusion that his creation had outgrown his management and passed it over to John Sculley, Procter & Gamble marketing man. The inevitable conflict and departure ensued and Jobs returned to the helm.
Jobs is a special talent who can visualise the marketing potential of technological promise. He has overseen numerous innovations at Apple including the smash hit iPod.
According to Robert Simon, there are two approaches to backing entrepreneurs: investing in people first and foremost, or forgetting about people and concentrating on the big opportunities in the market.
I believe the best approach lies somewhere between, though probably nearer the market. As Simon points out, the philosophy of the second approach is that if management doesn't work out, it can be fixed.
Seeking entrepreneurial success is the number one career opportunity in the 21st century. Management Today recently listed ten under-40s who run businesses, from nurse recruitment (worth around £50 million) to telecommunications (with the founder worth £17.4 million).
Those people would have been nowhere near as wealthy in a large company and they wouldn't have been so creative or found their job so rewarding.
To get ahead in business, you must see and act on opportunities and improve your skills as you go along. Invest in yourself and be your own venture capitalist.
