Few questions have preoccupied academics and business leaders quite like the nature versus nurture debate. From psychology to philosophy, from musicianship to athleticism, researchers have long wrestled with whether our abilities are hardwired at birth or shaped by experience, environment and hard graft.

In most fields, the answer has gradually become clear: nature matters, but nurture matters enormously. Yet in business, one stereotype still persists. Entrepreneurs are often seen as people born with something special – instinctively risk-tolerant, visionary and wired differently from the rest of us. We look at figures such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates or, closer to home, Sir Ian Wood, and conclude that what they achieved simply cannot be taught.

I have never fully accepted that view.

Having worked with businesses, universities and international industry networks across Scotland and internationally – including through WRIST and a range of entrepreneurial and innovation partnerships – I have seen repeatedly that entrepreneurial capability can be developed. Everything I have experienced over decades in business tells me that, in the main, entrepreneurs are made. And increasingly, we understand how to help create the right conditions for that to happen.

Converge chief reveals hopes for Scottish business pipeline

As someone who has spent much of my career building and growing businesses in highly competitive sectors, I also know that markets move quickly and competitive advantage never stands still. From a private sector perspective, the regions that succeed over the next decade will be those that create the best conditions for ambitious........

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