The say that the breakaway entrepreneurs and innovators; the pure geniuses that are our imminent achievers are indeed more likely to only complete two-years of college rather than staying in school to get an advanced degree. Interestingly enough, these realities often very much upset academia, because they pride themselves in telling students that upward mobility in life is all about education, but let me reassure you; That's Not Exactly True.
If you want to make a scientific breakthrough in any industry or area of human endeavor, the very best training you can ever get is the training you receive when you're in your own business because you learn how to make things happen, how to get things done, how to make deals, and how to sell yourself and your concept. These skills are essential not only for raising capital for your research, but also understanding the market and what people will buy, ensuring that whatever you produce will be of value to society and human civilizations.
Not long ago, I had a conversation with someone about this issue and they completely disagreed that the same skills you need to be a great scientist, are those for solving problems in business.
They believed that the best thing you could do was be in academia and then look for research grants. I hate to break it to anyone but some of the very greatest innovations of mankind have not come from academia rather they have come from entrepreneurs who to took an idea, concept, or research that came from academia and molded it into a worthwhile enterprise.They have the profit motive that motivated them to succeed and bring the project to fruition. It was the Wright Brothers who were bicycle mechanics that flew and built the first airplane; non-scientists. Many scientists believed at the time that it could not be done. Imagine that.
And imagination while we're on the subject is one of the keys as well and entrepreneur learns that nothing is impossible that anything can be achieved unless they use their imaginative creativity to put things together and make things work. I hope you'll please consider this because if you want to be a breakthrough scientist you need to have the entrepreneurial spirit and an innovative heart. Trust me, I know.