Who are some of the best teachers of entrepreneurship?

There's only one answer to this question and it might sound pretentious: experience.

As you go along, you might find some of your experiences remind you of certain stuff other entrepreneurs have said but you will very often find yourself going your own way even if they advise against it. You may be wrong but then again, they might be wrong also.

The worst thing you could do is read or listen to too much of what others have done, in their own way, and try to mimic them, believing that the same things will work for your business as well.

Take the issue of time, for example. Depending on the stage of their entrepreneurial life, some will argue you should always find time for the gym and disconnect at least a day a week. Ask a 22 year old guy who's pulling in 20K/month, in his pocket, after 2 years of absolute dedication to work and he'll say disconnecting just for the sake of disconnecting is wasted time. Then again, someone who's a master of automating his business may tell you 2 hours / day will get you to the right place in no time.

Another example is sales. The world changes at a very fast pace these days. Better communication tools, better CRMs, globalization - the "rules" of who to sell to, where and how to pitch, the very traits that make your product worthy or not, they're constantly evolving. Whatever worked 2 years ago might still work today, but there could be a completely different way to sell that is faster, more cost effective and more in tune to your communication style. Waste too much time being taught about sales when doing a start-up and you'll be blind to your own instincts that may very well be revolutionary :)

My advise is to develop and nurture a mindset that allows you to adapt rather than imitate.

Of course, if you fell what I said is dumb and would rather be taught entrepreneurship, then that's what you should do. I don't mean that in a bad way. I really think you should follow your gut on what makes a great entrepreneur. Being successful by trying to be someone you're not will be less fun :)

Here's an article I wrote about a similar topic, "how startup news is killing your startup": http://thebottomofthings.com/6-reasons-startup-news-is-killing-your-startup/

Good luck!

Entrepreneurship cannot be taught. Specific skills required to run a startup can be taught but there is no better lesson than your own experience.

Happy to help you with specific questions but ultimately it's not the answers anyone provides you, it's your experience in applying that (or ignoring it) that informs what you do again and what you never do again.

You.

Seriously.

You can learn all you want from lectures, videos and books, but nothing compares to the real thing.

Surround yourself with the smartest people you can find, prepare to fail, embrace change and be bold.

One more thing. Find a true mentor. What do I mean by that? Above all, they need to be someone you trust and someone you can call at 2am when sh*t hits the fan.

Check this out to see what I mean: http://bit.ly/16TPkUH

Give me a shout if you want to chat, I'm happy to go into more detail.

p.s. Here are 15 TED Talks that will change your life (via Mashable): http://on.mash.to/18Iexqn

There is an old saying that one who know how to do things - does them, and the one who don't - teach how to do them. So be aware of all those professional speakers and presenters who are saying they could teach entrepreneurship. The real school is the actual world around. Go and try to be an entrepreneur! There are books and people who can assist in avoiding obvious mistakes... But very often you are still better off making your own.

I am not sure if it is the type of entrepreneurship you are looking for, but check out Fizzle.co