This article is centered around a compilation of research and literature contributed by many of the leading entrepreneurial researchers and educators from around the world. The summary identifies entrepreneurial characteristics identified in successful entrepreneurs and corresponding recommendations on how to nurture those attributes through effective entrepreneurial studies.

The debate over whether entrepreneurs are made or born has been raging for the past two decades. Does a successful entrepreneur inherently possess certain attributes and personality traits or are entrepreneurial strengths something that can be taught and nurtured? This is a question that many MBA and B-School educators have sought to answer as entrepreneurship becomes increasingly popular as a source of economic expansion and growth; in both developed and developing countries. Extensive studies have been devoted to this topic and the conclusion is that there clearly are traits in an entrepreneur that makes him successful at this challenging profession. The consensus is, however, that these qualities and attributes can be developed and enhanced, if a pedagogically rich, diverse and entrepreneurial focused curriculum is utilized to prepare entrepreneurs. This article examines: the importance of entrepreneurs, the need for entrepreneurial education and its challenges, characteristics of successful entrepreneurs, and strategies for developing entrepreneurial coursework that produces exemplary entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship has been outlined as a paramount contributor to economic health and growth in countries that are developing, as well as those that are well established economically. Prior to the 1980s, entrepreneurial efforts were considered as small businesses with minimal impact on the nation's overall economy. The technology and information age of the past 25 years, coupled with extensive global expansion marked an era, where new venture creation and entrepreneurship was credited with significant economic expansion and growth in many nations, often at a greater rate than their bureaucratic counterparts in large organizations. This phenomenon was evidenced by the US steel industry, where smaller `mini mills', that utilized superior technology and had a significantly lower cost structure, were able to gain competitive advantage and outperform the established industrial giants.

Leading US entrepreneurial expert and educator, Donald Kuratko, advocates the critical importance of entrepreneurs to most economies. According to him:

"The road out of each economic crisis was created by the entrepreneurial sector! Yes, entrepreneurship has been the guiding light each time. Why? Because it is the result of individual innovation, passion, and tenacity. That is something that cannot be legislated or bought. It is deep within individuals who develop an idea, create the business model for its feasibility, and then work relentlessly to grow the venture. Whether innovations are created inside or outside established organizations, it is knowledge power that fuels a market economy. Multiply this process exponentially and an entire economy begins to work again. Our real lesson from economic history is this: The one true enduring force is entrepreneurship and the innovation it creates".

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