Most people assume that if you didn’t earn straight A’s in school, you must not be smart enough to become an entrepreneur. I’m here to tell you, that’s just not true—because I’m a case in point.
I can’t recall ever earning an A in high school—maybe not even a B. The only exceptions were in a work-study program and Home Economics. In the work-study program, I got to leave school during the last two periods to work at Digital Equipment Corporation as a materials handler. I thrived there, doing real work in a real environment. In Home Economics, we ran a restaurant for faculty members. It was hands-on, practical, and grounded in teamwork and service—skills I didn’t know then would later help me build businesses.
Everywhere else? C’s, D’s, and the occasional F—like the one I got in French. I wasn’t book smart. Memorizing facts, following rigid classroom structures, and repeating information on command just didn’t click for me.
And yet, despite my report cards, I went on to become a successful entrepreneur.
The truth is that traditional schooling measures only one kind of intelligence—what psychologist Howard Gardner calls “logical-mathematical.” It’s the kind rewarded by standardized tests, quizzes, and exams. But life outside the classroom requires a broader range of intelligences.
Some people are test smart. They’re great at memorizing and reciting facts. Others are people smart. They can read a room, build trust, and influence others. Some are spatially smart, seeing patterns and structures that others can’t. Some are hands-on learners who need to do in order to understand.
In school, you’re given information and then tested on how well you can recall it. But in the real world, you face challenges that don’t come with an answer key or multiple choice options. You need to be adaptable, resourceful, and curious—qualities that aren’t reflected in a GPA.
Today, we all carry the world’s knowledge in our pockets. With Google, ChatGPT, and AI tools, we can answer just about any factual question in seconds. So why do we still equate intelligence with memorization?
What really matters—especially in business—is how you think, not what you remember. Entrepreneurs have to spot opportunities, connect dots that others miss, and adapt quickly when things go sideways. Those are traits I developed not in the classroom, but through real-life experiences, like my work-study program and restaurant project.
So, when someone says, “I’m not smart enough to be an entrepreneur,” I challenge that idea. The question isn’t “How smart are you?” but “How are you smart?”
In my case, I wasn’t book smart. But I was work-smart. I was systems-smart. I was people-smart. I learned by doing, failing, adjusting, and trying again. That’s the real curriculum of entrepreneurship—and it’s one anyone can learn.
What kind of smart are you—and how can you use that to build something meaningful?
