Branson started out in business at age 16 , Edison left school at 12 , Jobs spent one year in a tertiary institution before founding Apple in his garage and Gates felt that Microsoft presented a better opportunity than a micro lecture about business management . The irony here is that these men and the hundreds of other university and school drop outs who make up today’s rich lists are the ones being studied in university courses . They have become the blueprint for a 21st Century education . (source Forbes)