4 December 2006
College… Not All It’s Cracked Up To Be
So the SF Gate posted a great article about young entrepreneurs leaving school. Disclaimer before I Begin this Post: This is not advice or a path for everyone. The article chronicles the likes of Sean Parker, Blake Ross, Evan Williams, and more. It shows something inherent about all of them: They clearly knew what they wanted to do. Evan didn’t want to work for anyone, Sean knew he wanted to start Napster and be an entrepreneur, and Blake wanted to continue with Firefox. Blake is actually a Miami native, and went to high school down the road from where I live. Don’t just do it, to “do it”. There’s a few things that make sense, when it comes to taking this path:
- Know Exactly What You’re Going To Do- Plan the project/ company before you take time off. Don’t just jump ship, without knowing what you’re going after.
- Don’t Leave Completely, Take a Leave of Absence- Certain schools differ on this. UMiami and Harvard are 8 year, and I believe Williams is something like 3. It’s called “Stopping Out”.
- Do it and Don’t Look Back- You’re going to question yourself. Stop once you make the decision. Hesitation can ruin it all. If you go into it, give yourself over.
- Don’t Try To Fit In- Don’t try to fit in or be affected by the norms of society. They won’t and can’t understand. If they give you crap, brush it off
- Surround Yourself With Like Minded Individuals- Try to stay around people in the same situation or fellow entrepreneurs
- Have Fun- Enjoy this. The journey is the reward. Your life is significantly different now than anyone else at your age. Be proud of what you’re doing.
This is a touchy subject, especially something I’ve debated in the past. It takes balls… lots of them.
Technorati Tags: college, silicon valley, entrepreneurs, obvious corp, evan williams, blake ross, firefox, sean parker, napster, facebook, dropping out of college, stop out
