"By earning a PhD in computer science at MIT I developed a skill that’s rare and valuable to this particular economic segment." I think if the word "skill" is

"By earning a PhD in computer science at MIT I developed a skill that’s rare and valuable to this particular economic segment." I think if the word "skill" is replaced by "asset", it reads better. OK, a little better. Maybe what he was trying to say was either (a) it is much easier to get a job in this economy if you have an MIT PhD or (b) he could get funding etc easily thanks to his MIT PhD or (c) while working through his PhD he acquired unique skills which enable him to found a company (as compared to someone who did a course in Yoga). (c) is more dubious than (a) or (b), as dasil003 points out above) I am just guessing here but it might be the case that the problem might be with the phrasing than the underlying idea. I agree that as written, the sentence seems to imply that he could be an entrepreneur just bacuse his MIT PhD is "rare".