Some funding agencies are more likely to support your research if you're doing it in the context of an industrial relationship. For those of you working in large companies, taking an interest in business is a way to gain greater control over your life. Engineers who understand business and are willing to manage people often command larger salaries. And a knowledge of business is essential if you want a greater say in how companies manage product development and allocate resources. Technical training positions engineers well to succeed in business.
Technology can provide a competitive advantage in any industry, even low-tech businesses.
Certainly in a high-technology market, business decisions are best made by people who understand both technology and business. In general, I think engineers can learn about business much more easily than business people can learn about technology. In that model, you identify an opportunity in a large and growing market, hire a complete team of experienced and successful managers, raise a lot of money, and spend it to accelerate your business development. Just by reading this simple description, you can see that it's most appropriate to raise venture capital when you've already begun to operate and you need an infusion of capital to drive the business. Venture capitalists serve a very useful purpose under those circumstances.