Learning to Start Businesses, in the Ivory Tower?

Over at Entrepreneur, Isaiah Hankel wrote what's, overall, just another article criticizing academic culture, but if you read it with an open mind you'll find a paragraph that's probably the most optimistic description I've ever read of what a research community can pull off, especially since Hankel's describing the academic community:

The ivory tower shouldn’t be perceived as a safe haven or a place for professionals to bide their time when the economy goes south. Rather it should be considered the best place to learn how to start and run a business [emphasis mine]. Academia’s sole purpose should be developing people not to just be professors, doctors and lawyers but ones who innovate and invent products and services.

Agreed, 100%.