Start an "ideas" folder (write them down or they drift away) and get your degree (from anywhere, not necessarily from Columbia. Once working, most fields do not

Start an "ideas" folder (write them down or they drift away) and get your degree (from anywhere, not necessarily from Columbia. Once working, most fields do not care about the pedigree of your degree unless you want to be a Supreme Court judge or advisor to the president, etc.). A degree opens doors that are closed without one. And getting one after you move forward and start you career and LIFE (esp the wife and kids) is just not possible for most people. It seems like an onerous diversion now but in the end you will look back and value the time spent learning and the people you meet in college. While you are getting your degree you can probably pick up consulting work like you did for your parents and continue to practice and learn what is taught in school (and think of more great ideas). When you near the end of school you can break out the ideas folder and see how many are done and how many no longer make any sense and mold the remaining ideas into viable business/action plans. Your friends from college may want to join you too. tl;dr: A lack of degree will limit future options; learning is easy when you are young and harder when you are older; get your degree now, the world will still be there when you are done; write down your ideas.