A Message from the Founder

A large percentage of new ventures fail—as many as 90%.

That’s been a fact for decades. Despite all the books, courses, and advice available today, it’s still true.

Research shows that entrepreneurs who take the time to learn and prepare improve their chances significantly. Yet many still dive in without understanding the process—learning under pressure, when mistakes are most costly.

When I started my first venture in 1983, there was no real body of knowledge to guide me. The available information focused on mechanics—how to set up a company, file taxes, or manage operations—but offered little help with the questions that actually determine success: how to find customers, how to test an idea, and how to build something that works.  In short, there was no theory or strategy explaining how to do it successfully.

Over time, that began to change. Entrepreneurship became something that could be studied and taught.

But one problem persists:

What is taught does not always match what works.

For more than forty years, I’ve worked on both sides of that gap, going back and forth—building businesses while teaching entrepreneurship—testing ideas in practice, seeing where theory holds up, where it breaks down, and refining those lessons into something clearer and more useful.

The International Entrepreneurship Institute (IEI) was created from that process.

Its purpose is simple:

To bridge the gap between theory and reality—and to help you understand how entrepreneurship actually works before you step into it.