By José Ángel de la Paz

Entrepreneurs need to develop competencies to put their business ideas into practice and be successful, claimed Ignacio de la Vega at INCmty 2019.

"Passion is innate, but capacities are learned; you have to work hard to be an entrepreneur and being trained offers a competitive advantage,” said the dean of EGADE Business School and the Undergraduate Business School of Tecnológico de Monterrey.

During the panel “Are Entrepreneurs Born or Made?”, De la Vega and other experts exchanged their perspectives of the entrepreneurial mindset and the role played by education in entrepreneurship.

Educators, he added, are responsible for developing an entrepreneurial vision based on values and educating students to create shared value and, through businesses, to transform society.

“We have helped entrepreneurs to dream big, giving them tools, advice and financing. But, we haven’t emphasized enough that not everything goes. Social responsibility should always be more valuable than the unicorn," De la Vega stated.

Mario Adrián Flores, vice-president of the Northern Region of Tec de Monterrey, and Ben Constantini, cofounder and CEO of Startup Sesame, also participated in the panel.

"Human beings are constantly seeking to be. If someone wants to be an entrepreneur, they can accomplish it if they are in an appropriate system and develop their skills,” Flores coincided.

Moreover, Constantini also acknowledged the importance of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, underscoring the importance of events such as INCmty, which help entrepreneurs to realize whether or not their idea is valuable.

"Mexico is a nation of entrepreneurs, with practically one business per family; the environment trains, educates and drives entrepreneurship,” assured the director of the global network of technological events present in 20 countries.

De la Vega highlighted the set of factors and actors who make the entrepreneurial ecosystem work effectively.

“Well-trained talent, leaders and entrepreneurial teams, educators, investors, public policies that favor investment in research and development; success is collective,” he said.

The panel was moderated by Purificación Lucena, editor of the Business section of Grupo Expansión.

Before starting, the dean presented the series of six Innovation and Entrepreneurship MOOCs from the MicroMasters program of EGADE Business School, offered in collaboration with edX.