Don't try to figure out what to do with a half-million dollars. Try to figure out what to do with 50K. Take it as a learning experience and then grow from the

Don't try to figure out what to do with a half-million dollars. Try to figure out what to do with 50K. Take it as a learning experience and then grow from there. Absolutely do not risk it all on one thing. If I had 1/2 mil, I would do 2 things: 1.) Invest in real estate (grad student housing, to be exact) for the cash flow for re-investment, and, 2.) Hire a few junior-level programmers to help me flesh out a handful of projects that I have been wanting to work on, but haven't had time to work on on my own.