4 ms·

Biggest Businesses Run by College Dropouts

20 points by rmah 15y ago

rmah 15y ago
If you don't feel like clicking a lot: Taubman Centers ($3.3B), Alfred Taubman Best Buy ($10.1B), Richard Schultz Polo Ralph Lauren ($11.9B), Ralph Lauren Virgin Group ($18B), Richard Branson Carnival ($19.6B), Micky Arison Dell ($30B), Michael Dell Facebook ($100B est.), Mark Zuckerberg Microsoft ($226B), Paul Allen & Bill Gates Apple ($362B), Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak
- cmurdock 15y ago
  Thanks, I started going through them and then gave up. There should be laws against article layouts like this.
  - michael_dorfman 15y ago
    Even more than that, there should be laws against contentless articles like this. Making a list of the 10 largest corporations run by college drop-outs is like making a list of the 10 largest corporations run by men over six feet tall.
    - traldan 15y ago
      Sounds like a Cracked "article" to me
clistctrl 15y ago
I can't speak for these guys, but I can tell you my experience. I dropped out after 1.5 years since my career got started way early. Without a degree you lack security. In every sense of the word. Getting a job means I have to go the extra mile to prove my capabilities. I don't expect that my career will last forever (the supply and demand of programmers is in my advantage right now, but that could change tomorrow). Additionally, and especially here on the east coast people judge you by two things. Your title, and where you got your degree. Not having a degree becomes an extremely sensitive subject, and the source of a great quantity of insecurity. The combination of personal insecurity, and career insecurity leads one to strive.
hvs 15y ago
Which is why everyone should just drop out of college. That's the point of the article, right? Oh, it's linkbait? Gotcha.
- bradleyland 15y ago
  Yeah, I always hate to see titles like these. I'm part of the generation that got their start during the dot-com boom of the late nineties. I graduated high school in 1995 and after a year and a half of college, I left for a job offer that I thought was going to land me in a home on the beach. When things are booming, and you have a talent that is in demand, it's easy to make a go at it without a degree. A lot of the promises turn out to be empty though. Fortunately, I really enjoy being an entrepreneur, which is one of the few careers in which you don't "interview for jobs" all that often. As an entrepreneur, your resume is your ability to create successful outcomes. Starting your career during the dot-com boom-bust is kind of like a free pass. You get to talk about it like it made sense. Most people accept at face value that in 1997, quitting college and working for a dot-com made perfect sense. Almost 15 years later, everyone focuses on the fact that you've been in the industry for 15 years. You end up with plenty of stories to tell that mask the fact that you never got to study subjects like computational complexity and big O notation in college. Like most, I wouldn't change anything about the path I've taken, because I love where I'm at, but if I were starting today, dropping out of college isn't even something I'd consider. I'm not suggesting anyone should rack up $100k in student debt, but I do think sticking it out is worth the trip.
vlad99 15y ago
So a handful, now who's gonna do a list with the biggest businesses run by college graduates. I think that would be interesting to see.
- proggR 15y ago
  Or how about the employment rates and mean income of both drop outs and graduates since "running a company" isn't something that is on everyone's todo list. I'm positive that study has been done.
pizza_ 15y ago
And with good reason! A typical graduate is saddled with far too much debt to consider the risk of starting a business.
IanDrake 15y ago
Disclaimer: I didn't read the article. Bet: I bet they didn't mention that most of these people were "too smart" for college (even ivy league ones).

20 points by rmah 15y ago

rmah 15y ago

If you don't feel like clicking a lot: Taubman Centers ($3.3B), Alfred Taubman Best Buy ($10.1B), Richard Schultz Polo Ralph Lauren ($11.9B), Ralph Lauren Virgin Group ($18B), Richard Branson Carnival ($19.6B), Micky Arison Dell ($30B), Michael Dell Facebook ($100B est.), Mark Zuckerberg Microsoft ($226B), Paul Allen & Bill Gates Apple ($362B), Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak

cmurdock 15y ago
Thanks, I started going through them and then gave up. There should be laws against article layouts like this.
- michael_dorfman 15y ago
  Even more than that, there should be laws against contentless articles like this. Making a list of the 10 largest corporations run by college drop-outs is like making a list of the 10 largest corporations run by men over six feet tall.
  - traldan 15y ago
    Sounds like a Cracked "article" to me

clistctrl 15y ago

I can't speak for these guys, but I can tell you my experience. I dropped out after 1.5 years since my career got started way early. Without a degree you lack security. In every sense of the word. Getting a job means I have to go the extra mile to prove my capabilities. I don't expect that my career will last forever (the supply and demand of programmers is in my advantage right now, but that could change tomorrow). Additionally, and especially here on the east coast people judge you by two things. Your title, and where you got your degree. Not having a degree becomes an extremely sensitive subject, and the source of a great quantity of insecurity. The combination of personal insecurity, and career insecurity leads one to strive.

hvs 15y ago

Which is why everyone should just drop out of college. That's the point of the article, right? Oh, it's linkbait? Gotcha.

bradleyland 15y ago
Yeah, I always hate to see titles like these. I'm part of the generation that got their start during the dot-com boom of the late nineties. I graduated high school in 1995 and after a year and a half of college, I left for a job offer that I thought was going to land me in a home on the beach. When things are booming, and you have a talent that is in demand, it's easy to make a go at it without a degree. A lot of the promises turn out to be empty though. Fortunately, I really enjoy being an entrepreneur, which is one of the few careers in which you don't "interview for jobs" all that often. As an entrepreneur, your resume is your ability to create successful outcomes. Starting your career during the dot-com boom-bust is kind of like a free pass. You get to talk about it like it made sense. Most people accept at face value that in 1997, quitting college and working for a dot-com made perfect sense. Almost 15 years later, everyone focuses on the fact that you've been in the industry for 15 years. You end up with plenty of stories to tell that mask the fact that you never got to study subjects like computational complexity and big O notation in college. Like most, I wouldn't change anything about the path I've taken, because I love where I'm at, but if I were starting today, dropping out of college isn't even something I'd consider. I'm not suggesting anyone should rack up $100k in student debt, but I do think sticking it out is worth the trip.

vlad99 15y ago

So a handful, now who's gonna do a list with the biggest businesses run by college graduates. I think that would be interesting to see.

proggR 15y ago
Or how about the employment rates and mean income of both drop outs and graduates since "running a company" isn't something that is on everyone's todo list. I'm positive that study has been done.

pizza_ 15y ago

And with good reason! A typical graduate is saddled with far too much debt to consider the risk of starting a business.

IanDrake 15y ago

Disclaimer: I didn't read the article. Bet: I bet they didn't mention that most of these people were "too smart" for college (even ivy league ones).