6 ms·

It may be easier if you have credentials, but it’s certainly possible without them. I’d argue how your business is running is 10x as important as credentials.

It may be easier if you have credentials, but it’s certainly possible without them. I’d argue how your business is running is 10x as important as credentials. (I dropped out of a non-prestigious school and had work experience at one company, have raised $120m+ in <4 yrs).

emit_time 6y ago
> It may be easier if you have credentials, but it’s certainly possible without them. So they care a lot, but it’s not everything to them?
- austenallred 6y ago
  I’d argue they care but not a lot
disown 6y ago
> (I dropped out of a non-prestigious school and had work experience at one company, have raised $120m+ in <4 yrs). In other words, you had connections? I'm guessing you weren't a poor single mother who dropped out of school to raise her kid. How do you drop out, have 1 job experience and raise $120m? Either you are extremely privilege and/or extraordinarily lucky. Stop making it sound so easy like everyone can do what you did. Most people, who didn't even drop out, wouldn't know where to start.
- user5994461 6y ago
  You don't drop out and get 120M. You drop out, start a company because nobody wants you, get some seeds funding with sheer luck, grow the business progressively, hire some more people, grow some more and eventually raise 2 more rounds reaching 120M. That takes many many years. It's a massive combination of luck and being at the right place at the right time selling an okay thing. Then persevering over numerous years and executing decently. Most people won't get there not because they are incapable but because they don't have the environment and the bit of luck.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - bergstromm466 6y ago
    > It's a massive combination of luck and being at the right place at the right time selling an okay thing Yes that, as well as: having a secure attachment to primary caregivers (Bowlyby & Ainsworth) and live in relative security, have encouragement and patience early on from parents or other guides to help you manage complexity and 'learn how to learn' autodidactically from a very early age. The people who do well in school inherited a calm nervous system. Honestly I think 99.999% of what people attribute to 'hard work, or call 'success', purely has to do with the state of the nervous system of the individual. Unlucky? You'll face systemic disadvantagement.
- exolymph 6y ago
  https://twitter.com/Austen/status/997604313362034689 https://twitter.com/Austen/status/997604313362034689 > My experience: everything I own in one suitcase, here’s my sleeping situation. Would shower at YMCA and work at coworking space. $300/mo personal burn. If you could combine the two you’d fill it 100% and make SF possible again. https://twitter.com/Austen/status/1093540469022195712 https://twitter.com/Austen/status/1093540469022195712 > Lambda School wouldn't exist without Gumroad. > We bootstrapped for the first several months without salaries from the proceeds of the book I sold there. Gave us enough runway to try the crazy “pay back when you’re hired” things. Thanks Sahil! Wanna try again?
  - disown 6y ago
    > Wanna try again? No need. Everything you linked is self proclaimed tweets. By someone obviously very good at selling himself. I'm sure I can link to Zuckerburg tweeting about how concerned he is about privacy issues. Does that make it so? I've actually lived like the guy claimed and even worse. You certainly don't have time and energy to write a book. Certainly don't take pics. Seems more like the guy was hipster "slumming" for cred rather than someone truly struggling. So a classic dropout bum who magically sells a book to start a startup? Like I said, " Either [he is] extremely privilege and/or extraordinarily lucky." Do you want to try again? If his story is true, he is extremely privileged and/or extraordinarily lucky. How about this, if every college student dropped out and lived like a bum, what percentage of them would be able to raise $120 million? Also, lambdaschool isn't a new idea. The idea of tech training school has been around at least since the 90s.
    - bergstromm466 6y ago
      > lambdaschool isn't a new idea. The idea of tech training school has been around at least since the 90s Yep, and the apprenticeship model even longer (which I'd argue is a category lambdaschool falls under)
  - austenallred 6y ago
    You’re saying because I wrote a book and sold it I have credentials?
- austenallred 6y ago
  It wasn’t easy, never said that, but I also had no credentials and no one cared.

emit_time 6y ago

> It may be easier if you have credentials, but it’s certainly possible without them. So they care a lot, but it’s not everything to them?

austenallred 6y ago
I’d argue they care but not a lot

disown 6y ago

> (I dropped out of a non-prestigious school and had work experience at one company, have raised $120m+ in <4 yrs). In other words, you had connections? I'm guessing you weren't a poor single mother who dropped out of school to raise her kid. How do you drop out, have 1 job experience and raise $120m? Either you are extremely privilege and/or extraordinarily lucky. Stop making it sound so easy like everyone can do what you did. Most people, who didn't even drop out, wouldn't know where to start.

user5994461 6y ago
You don't drop out and get 120M. You drop out, start a company because nobody wants you, get some seeds funding with sheer luck, grow the business progressively, hire some more people, grow some more and eventually raise 2 more rounds reaching 120M. That takes many many years. It's a massive combination of luck and being at the right place at the right time selling an okay thing. Then persevering over numerous years and executing decently. Most people won't get there not because they are incapable but because they don't have the environment and the bit of luck.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- bergstromm466 6y ago
  > It's a massive combination of luck and being at the right place at the right time selling an okay thing Yes that, as well as: having a secure attachment to primary caregivers (Bowlyby & Ainsworth) and live in relative security, have encouragement and patience early on from parents or other guides to help you manage complexity and 'learn how to learn' autodidactically from a very early age. The people who do well in school inherited a calm nervous system. Honestly I think 99.999% of what people attribute to 'hard work, or call 'success', purely has to do with the state of the nervous system of the individual. Unlucky? You'll face systemic disadvantagement.
exolymph 6y ago
https://twitter.com/Austen/status/997604313362034689 https://twitter.com/Austen/status/997604313362034689 > My experience: everything I own in one suitcase, here’s my sleeping situation. Would shower at YMCA and work at coworking space. $300/mo personal burn. If you could combine the two you’d fill it 100% and make SF possible again. https://twitter.com/Austen/status/1093540469022195712 https://twitter.com/Austen/status/1093540469022195712 > Lambda School wouldn't exist without Gumroad. > We bootstrapped for the first several months without salaries from the proceeds of the book I sold there. Gave us enough runway to try the crazy “pay back when you’re hired” things. Thanks Sahil! Wanna try again?
- disown 6y ago
  > Wanna try again? No need. Everything you linked is self proclaimed tweets. By someone obviously very good at selling himself. I'm sure I can link to Zuckerburg tweeting about how concerned he is about privacy issues. Does that make it so? I've actually lived like the guy claimed and even worse. You certainly don't have time and energy to write a book. Certainly don't take pics. Seems more like the guy was hipster "slumming" for cred rather than someone truly struggling. So a classic dropout bum who magically sells a book to start a startup? Like I said, " Either [he is] extremely privilege and/or extraordinarily lucky." Do you want to try again? If his story is true, he is extremely privileged and/or extraordinarily lucky. How about this, if every college student dropped out and lived like a bum, what percentage of them would be able to raise $120 million? Also, lambdaschool isn't a new idea. The idea of tech training school has been around at least since the 90s.
  - bergstromm466 6y ago
    > lambdaschool isn't a new idea. The idea of tech training school has been around at least since the 90s Yep, and the apprenticeship model even longer (which I'd argue is a category lambdaschool falls under)
- austenallred 6y ago
  You’re saying because I wrote a book and sold it I have credentials?
austenallred 6y ago
It wasn’t easy, never said that, but I also had no credentials and no one cared.