Decode the System, Drive the Growth: Entrepreneurial Lessons from Higher Ed

In an era where adaptability is paramount, entrepreneurs can glean valuable insights from the evolving educational market. By understanding the modern learner’s needs and behaviors, business leaders can develop strategies that improve innovation, address unmet needs, and drive meaningful growth.  

Key Takeaways:

• Entrepreneurs can gain powerful strategic insights by studying how higher education adapts to complexity, including changing technology and stakeholder expectations.
• Understanding evolving customer needs through deep analysis and empathy helps businesses anticipate shifts and deliver more personalized, values-driven solutions.
• True innovation comes from shifting perspective to the user’s experience, identifying overlooked pain points, and co-creating solutions with those closest to the problem.
• Sustainable leadership in business, like in education, depends on adaptability, continuous learning, and building trust through empathy and collaboration.

Entrepreneurship thrives on pattern recognition—and some of the most revealing patterns exist outside the business world. Higher education is one such mirror. As institutions adapt to meet the needs of modern learners, they’re contending with forces like evolving technology, shifting demographics, and growing demands for flexibility and personalization. These same pressures exist across industries. By looking at how universities respond to complexity, business leaders can uncover new strategies to navigate their own sectors.

The concept of the “modern learner” isn’t limited to academia. It speaks to a broader shift in how people engage with systems, make decisions, and assess value. Entrepreneurs who study how educational leaders gather insights, redesign processes, and build for future needs can unlock strategies that are equally applicable in business—where agility, empathy, and foresight are now competitive advantages.

1. Deeply analyze your core stakeholders and industry dynamics.
   The foundation of meaningful business growth lies in understanding—not assuming—what stakeholders need. In education, this translates into comprehensive efforts to understand student personas, behavioral trends, and engagement patterns. Similarly, entrepreneurs should rigorously study their own customers, market shifts, and emerging preferences. This isn’t about static data points; it’s about evolving narratives. What motivates your audience today might not hold tomorrow. Deep dives into psychographics, buying journeys, and contextual trends will help businesses see not just where demand is, but where it’s headed.

   Consumer expectations are becoming more nuanced and values-driven. People expect brands to understand their context and provide tailored, frictionless solutions. Entrepreneurs must take a page from educational institutions that have moved beyond enrollment numbers to measure student success, retention, and satisfaction. Business leaders should ask themselves: Are we still solving yesterday’s problems? Or are we listening closely enough to see what our market is beginning to whisper?

2. Look beyond conventional approaches for innovative strategies.
   In higher ed, innovation often starts by questioning legacy systems—an exercise entrepreneurs should embrace. Consider Liaison’s “Graduate Student Inquiry Response” project, highlighted by Art Munin, Senior AVP of Enrollment Management Solutions at Liaison, which uncovered significant friction in the graduate admissions process. By sending hundreds of mock inquiries to schools, Liaison revealed how slow follow-ups and impersonal content alienated prospective students. This wasn’t a tech failure—it was a perspective failure. Institutions weren’t viewing the process through the applicant’s eyes.

   This model of inquiry holds powerful lessons for business. As Munin puts it: “We have to see the experience not through our operational perspective, but through the eyes of our customers.” Entrepreneurs who adopt this mindset will challenge what they think is “working” and instead focus on how customers actually experience their product, service, or brand. Innovation, then, becomes less about invention and more about reorientation. Shifting perspectives can reveal latent pain points and spark solutions that set businesses apart.

3. Proactively identify and address unmet needs within your ecosystem.
   One of higher education’s greatest insights is that innovation doesn’t begin in isolation. At Liaison, Munin notes that the most successful programs are co-created with input from faculty, administrators, and students. This inclusive, community-first approach uncovers hidden needs and overlooked perspectives. Entrepreneurs, too, should avoid the trap of top-down strategy creation. True opportunity often resides with those closest to the problem.

   Unmet needs can appear as operational inefficiencies, customer frustrations, or underserved niches—but identifying them requires humility. Entrepreneurs must listen more than they speak. Building advisory panels, conducting empathy interviews, or collaborating with adjacent industries can provide clarity and spark innovation. As Munin reminds us: “Community isn’t just a support structure—it’s a strategy.” Leaders who institutionalize feedback loops and encourage open collaboration are the ones most likely to discover needs their competitors have ignored.

4. Embrace adaptability and a growth mindset for lasting impact.
   The world of higher education is constantly in flux, requiring its leaders to be agile and forward-thinking. Munin emphasizes a culture of continuous learning at Liaison, one that views uncertainty as an opportunity, not a threat. Entrepreneurs should adopt this same outlook. Navigating today’s complexity demands a willingness to revise assumptions, experiment with new ideas, and stay open to course corrections. The organizations that resist change may survive temporarily, but the ones that embrace it will thrive sustainably.

   Adaptability must also be paired with empathy. Munin explains, “It’s always about people, not products.” Leading with empathy doesn’t mean sacrificing business rigor; it means understanding the real lives and aspirations of the people you serve. Entrepreneurs who listen actively, design with the end user in mind, and continuously refine their approach create more than just products; they create ecosystems of trust. And in an age of volatility, trust is one of the few constants you can build upon.

Build Like an Educator, Lead Like an Entrepreneur 

 Business leaders often think they have little in common with educators—but the parallels are striking. Both serve diverse stakeholders, manage dynamic systems, and aim to create long-term impact. Entrepreneurs who borrow strategies from higher education, particularly those that center empathy, insight, and co-creation, can unlock new dimensions of innovation and resilience. The future of business leadership won’t be defined by who has the best ideas but by who best understands the systems and people they’re building for.

Written by Rhett Power.
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