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Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup

joel.is

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Re: Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup

#31

Post by timc3 »

jandrewrogers wrote: post #26

There is a reason the average age of successful first-time startup entrepreneurs is something like 35. And this is something I only learned in retrospect, having precocious talent for being at the right place at the right time in my 20s and never really capitalizing on it. Yes, there are outlier cases but really successful startups tend to be led by people that already have a few iterations under their belt. Experien…

Where does the 35 figure come from? being in that age group and as a founder of a business it kind of interests me.

Re: Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup

#32

Post by timc3 »

pg wrote: post #20
colinbartlett wrote: post #6

Stop thinking about "doing a startup" and start thinking about "starting a business".

That's like saying stop thinking about eating an apple and start thinking about eating fruit. Startups are a proper subset of businesses. It's up to each individual what type he or she wants to start.

I think what he is trying to say is just concentrate on what you are building/creating and not whether it fits a certain buzz word which is sound advice.

Re: Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup

#34

Post by jarek »

randomdata wrote: post #19
breckenedge wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to discourage you, but your education will likely benefit you far longer than most SV companies will be around. The benefits of education also brought, in my life, career choices that would not have been available without it. Choice is liberating. Who knows though, the world does seem to be changing.

> Choice is liberating. I find it to be overwhelming. I am routinely contacted by people asking if I am looking for work, and what they are doing seems like it could be an amazing experience, but you get comfortable in your six figure job that you love and taking the risk on something new is a huge decision. Like, "should you divorce your wife to date the interesting new girl you met?" kind of huge. I did not have th…

> I am routinely contacted by people asking if I am looking for work, and what they are doing seems like it could be an amazing experience, but you get comfortable in your six figure job that you love

One percent (of developers) problems.

Re: Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup

#35

Post by bob_tyson »

this is a tricky subject with the current state of free online education. im currently enrolled in a small tech for game design. its becoming more apparent as time goes on that everything im learning in school is easily found online. not to mention my school keeps losing all of our good instructors to full sail and Disney leaving us with fresh college graduates. for me it boils down to the quality of education im paying for. i know being in debt is apart of getting your degree but at what point do you take the leap of faith and just try to educate and grow on your own?

Re: Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup

#37

Post by CamperBob2 »

w1ntermute wrote: post #27
pg wrote: post #17

"As a result, my advice to anyone thinking of dropping out is to keep studying, and use every opportunity to build projects and startups on the side." Yes. In fact, I'd go even further. Don't even try to build startups. That's premature optimization. Just build things that seem interesting. The average undergraduate hacker is more likely to discover good startup ideas that way than by making a conscious effort to wor…

And unless you're Gates or Zuckerberg (protip: you're almost definitely not), that college degree is going to be infinitely more valuable to you than anything you might come up with while in college. A lot of people think that it was because he dropped out that Zuck was so successful, but IIRC, during Startup School 2012 he said that Facebook hit 1 million users before he dropped out. So unless you're coming up with…

Your startup can fail at any time before people give two shits about it (and most do, quite quickly), but a good degree from a quality university will stay with you for life.

Actually it'll stay with you for your first entry-level job, after which people will simply stop asking when/where you went to school.

Re: Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup

#38

Post by nolastan »

Jonanin wrote: post #4

Hopefully this is related: can anyone give some advice or input on dropping out to work in silicon valley in general? I'm not close to done (first semester freshman), but I have an internship at a certain large SV company this summer. If you were in my position, and that company offered a job, would you take it?

My advice: make a list of all the reasons to stay in school. Go through each reason and determine if it's valid.

For me, after doing this, dropping out was an easy decision and I have no regrets. I'm more engaged and challenged each day at TaskRabbit than I ever was in class.

However, ensure you'll have no regrets about your college experience. I achieved my goals, tried new things, and got what I wanted out of college - it just didn't take me 4 years.

Re: Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup

#39

Post by kamaal »

CamperBob2 wrote: post #37
w1ntermute wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And unless you're Gates or Zuckerberg (protip: you're almost definitely not), that college degree is going to be infinitely more valuable to you than anything you might come up with while in college. A lot of people think that it was because he dropped out that Zuck was so successful, but IIRC, during Startup School 2012 he said that Facebook hit 1 million users before he dropped out. So unless you're coming up with…

Your startup can fail at any time before people give two shits about it (and most do, quite quickly), but a good degree from a quality university will stay with you for life. Actually it'll stay with you for your first entry-level job, after which people will simply stop asking when/where you went to school.

No, College degree matters. In fact in many cases your resume may not even pass through the filters if you don't have college degree on it.

People seriously need to think before dropping out. What do you plan to do, if your start up folds up? Which is a very likely scenario given how many start ups fold up.

You can do the start up thing anytime. But going to college has always been a young mans game.

Re: Thoughts on dropping out to do a startup

#40

Post by bravoyankee »

timc3 wrote: post #32
pg wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's like saying stop thinking about eating an apple and start thinking about eating fruit. Startups are a proper subset of businesses. It's up to each individual what type he or she wants to start.

I think what he is trying to say is just concentrate on what you are building/creating and not whether it fits a certain buzz word which is sound advice.

He probably should have said that then. I didn't know what he meant initially either.
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