Regrets?

[Mr_Payne]

<p>

Uh, you said they were young. I asked you how young you were. You are now replying with a nonsequitur.

Honestly, I don’t know why I quoted that phrase, I meant to quote this:</p>

<p>

Uh, no, the median position is NOT meaningful. After all, you brought up the notion of ‘expected value’.

That is a non sequitur.</p>

<p>

The problem is that entrepreneurial opportunities won’t wait around for you to graduate. These windows open and shut quickly. You can’t just say “Hey, I have a pretty good idea right now, but let me wait until I finally graduate before I try it”. By the time that happens, the window may be shut. Again, imagine what would have happened to Gates if had decided to wait.

If the opportunity disappears. The wealth was still created. Society still benefits. If that niche hasn’t been filled then the opportunity still is there and Gates (or other) could still come in and become rich.</p>

<p>

And similarly, the median person with a degree who starts a company has a high opportunity cost. Either way, it’s high. Hence, this is an irrelevant point.

True enough, they just don’t have the risk, because they are instantly marketable upon failure of the business.</p>

<p>

So? If you fail, you end up in exactly the same spot as you would have otherwise.</p>

<p>To illustrate: A 19 year old guy has an idea. He drops out of school to try it. After a year, it fails, so now he goes back to school. He then graduates at age 23.</p>

<p>Another guy also has an idea when he’s 19, but he decides not to pursue, instead deciding to go through school all the way through. He graduates at age 22. He then starts a company (perhaps with his old idea, perhaps with another). It fails in a year. So now he’s 23.</p>

<p>Hence, either way, he’s 23 years old with a failed company under his belt.</p>

<p>The major difference is that the first guy tried out his idea when it was still topical. And if his idea is successful, then he doesn’t ever need to go back to school. Hence, he has saved significant time. The 2nd guy, if his idea is successful, basically ended up spending extra time on a degree that he doesn’t really need.

Do you think their is advantage to completing the degree before starting your company?</p>

<p>Seems like their are 3 possible advantages:</p>

<p>1) Technical training.
2) Network effects (obviously one’s network grows the longer one is at the school).
3) Ability to get capital (small bit of credentialism).</p>