Drop Out, Start Up

Wait a second. This kid built a working nuclear reactor when he was 14!?
Why do you need college when you're probably already smarter than 90 percent of the professors you'll encounter? Is taking a music appreciation elective class really that important to this guy's development?

 

No, but what about the rest of us who can't build a reactor?

 

It's the Thiel effect.

 

A college education lasts a lifetime and can never be taken away. A business can close after a short time and be gone forever.

 

Screw that. My college education is long gone.

 

I'm not sure why this thread has to be about my experience. It wasn't my intent.

That said, I think you confuse "had to" borrow from my parents with "was able to".

I don't remember what percentage of the money I borrowed, but I know it wasn't the whole nut. I'd been working full time on Wall St. for over a year at that point (not that it was big money). Had worked full time prior to that, and had always worked summers as a kid. I had a decent amount of money saved, lived on my own. etc.

The opportunity was a good one, and, I believe I could have raised it without my folks. I think I could have gotten the previous owner to finance the purchase if I needed to.

Either way, $20,000 or less is not a ton of money to borrow. Even if you lose everything, it's not an amount you could not pay back if the business failed and you had to go get a real job.

The idea of knocking every business startup because it requires some initial capital is silly.

None of the businesses I've started required more than 20,000. That's a pretty low number for a business startup. And, all of them have succeeded. I have a good track record.

When I started my last business, I had people interested in investing, that I turned down.

Regardless, people borrow a lot more than $20,000 for college.

And, no one is saying this is for everyone. But, I think it's worth questioning the conventional wisdom that everyone should go to college, and should borrow heavily to do so.

College definitely is not for everyone. There are lots of folks in college right now who are wasting their time and money.

Starting a business might not be for everyone either, but it's probably a good idea for a lot more people than are currently exploring the idea.

A failed business can also be a fabulous education, which can't be taken away.

Many successful entrepreneurs failed in their initial business attempt.

 

When you question the wisdom of college or certain policies using your experiences, it's important to point out not everyone has access to their parents' savings to fund college or their business ideas. People without your resources are going to question your bootstraps philosophy once they know it wasn't bootstraps that got you going.

You can borrow several thousand a year for college rather easily. Much harder to find capital.

You started a thread on starting your own espresso machine repair business, but did you just start out borrowing $1,500 for tools and spare parts, or did you borrow a bit more?

 

I can't make a blanket statement for all of mankind, but for me, dropping out was the best thing to do. My heart was in the newsroom from the moment I stepped into one at 16. My attempt at college was a waste of time and money -- some of the latter belonging to the school and the taxpayers. It didn't have to be, but I ensured it would be by placing it far behind newspaper work on my priorities.

 

But college is also not something that has to be done by X years of age. It can wait.

 

Yeah, that's where I got stuck in the story. How the heck does one get enough enriched nuclear fuel at 14 to build a freaking working reactor?

 

The kid should be getting more than $100,000. The DOE could hire him for more than that.

 

So the only reason to go to college is to get a job?