Welcome to another episode of the Million Dollar Stories Podcast! I’m your host, Mike Fallat, and today we have a guest who’s about to flip conventional business wisdom on its head. Joining us is Carl Schramm, author of "Burn the Business Plan: What Great Entrepreneurs Really Do." Carl is not just any business expert; he’s the former president of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, cofounder of Global Entrepreneurship Week, and a leader in the StartUp America initiative. He’s also been dubbed "The Evangelist of Entrepreneurship" by The Economist.

In today’s conversation, Carl is here to debunk some of the biggest myths about entrepreneurship. While many believe that you need a perfect business plan to succeed, Carl’s research shows that most of the world’s most successful companies—Apple, Google, Facebook—didn’t start with a formal business plan at all. In fact, Burn the Business Plan argues that success in entrepreneurship is more about real-life experience, solving problems you’ve encountered firsthand, and leveraging your existing networks—rather than following rigid academic models.

Carl also shatters the stereotype of the young, tech-savvy entrepreneur. Did you know that the average entrepreneur is actually 39 years old? And that those over 40 are five times more likely to succeed than their younger counterparts? Carl’s insights are invaluable for anyone who thinks they’ve missed the window to start their own business or who feels bogged down by the traditional "startup playbook."

We’ll be diving deep into Carl’s experiences, his advice for entrepreneurs juggling careers and mortgages, and why the best business ideas come from real-world experience, not classroom theory. So if you're ready to rethink everything you know about starting a business, this episode is for you. Let’s get started with Carl Schramm and Burn the Business Plan!

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