"It's all about Practice"

Want a job as an Educator? Doctor? Analyst? Venture Capitalist?

Turns out that someone who wants to help fund local businesses needs the same business skills as everyone else. Marketing, design, distribution, and finance are some of the skills Novogratz says are useful for someone looking to get into a VC like Acumen. Some other tangible skills that can bring a lot to the table are medicine, education, law, and engineering to help entrepreneurs on the ground.

Now, I want to focus on Novogratz's advice. There were a good few years of my youth when I thought I would be working in the peace core in Africa, as I'm sure every kid has thought of at some point in their lives. What I didn't realize back then that I realize know is how moderately prepared I am for the real world. I'm a business student, yet almost everything I have learned (except for accounting) is theoretical. I can't really use it in real life and I probably wouldn't be able to help an African Entrepreneur much solely with my education.

That made me realize how there are still some gaping holes in our education system. Too many people my age don't know how to do their own taxes. There is no shortage of people (who aren't business majors) who don't know the difference between revenue and profit.

The point being, we need to help ourselves first in order to more effectively help others. That's not to say that anyone in Africa helping others should stop and return home until they have all of their financial statements memorized.

My point is, we need to make sure that in high school we teach our own enough so that they have enough information to make the tough decisions that can change the rest of their lives (i.e. Student Loans paid over a long time period). No person should be denied a job at a VC helping people in developing economies because their county thought that calculus was more important than a 1040. People should have the freedom and basic know-how to grab the reigns on the bull we call the "American Dream." That's why it all comes down to taking the time to teach our youth and provide them with experience (aka practice).

And that's the beauty behind business. It's a base to pave the way for any venture whether it be art, science, social entrepreneurship, or a lemonade stand. I can't wait for the days when the internet does make people more free, but for now let's help those who don't have access to the same resources.

Help us help them, help them if that makes any sense.