How a 19-Year-Old Raised $5 Million to Revolutionize Search • Hacker News Board

Re: How a 19-Year-Old Raised $5 Million to Revolutionize Search

#71

Post by stretchwithme » Sat, Mar 05, 2011, 2:37 AM UTC

mixmastamyk wrote: post #62

m_myers wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I came here to say the same thing (even worded the same way in my head). Why are people so fixated on college degrees -- even if they've already built a profitable company from scratch? Is it to prove something? If so, what?

They're nice in that they force you to learn some subjects you wouldn't normally ... that and the college chicks. Agree that the idea in that you have little worth without one is a bit absurd.

I suspect its possible to find someone to force you to learn things you wouldn't otherwise learn for free.

Re: How a 19-Year-Old Raised $5 Million to Revolutionize Search

#72

Post by stretchwithme » Sat, Mar 05, 2011, 2:41 AM UTC

m_myers wrote: post #35

acconrad wrote: post #13

I thought this was a cool article until I read this line: "But regardless of how successful Greplin is, say, even if we go public someday, my parents won't be satisfied unless I get a degree. They won't speak to me." That's pretty sad, actually :(

I came here to say the same thing (even worded the same way in my head). Why are people so fixated on college degrees -- even if they've already built a profitable company from scratch? Is it to prove something? If so, what?

A great many people rely on social proof if there is any when deciding to trust someone rather than taking the time to find out for themselves. In fact, we all probably do that to some degree. You can't have firsthand knowledge of everything.

Re: How a 19-Year-Old Raised $5 Million to Revolutionize Search

#73

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Mar 11, 2011, 3:24 PM UTC

edanm wrote: post #66

yewweitan wrote: post #41

From the article, on going to college: "The way it works in Israel, you have to go to the army first" I wonder how much this impacts the entrepreneurial mindset in male youth. I grew up mostly in Singapore, and they too have conscription upon reaching the age of 18 (with some exceptions, eg: for medicine and for national scholarship holders). From what I see from my friends' facebook channels, it's definitely a drain…

I'm Israeli, so I thought I'd share on how the Army has a huge positive impact on entrepreneurship. For a lot of Israelis who are smart, the army is a great experience that really helps them. For example, there is a very respected Programming Course in the Israeli army, which trains programmers for half a year. These programmers then go on to work on all the Armies' systems for the next 5 1/2 years. This course is ca…

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