6 ms·

Young, Rich, and Calling Their Own Shots - 30 Under 30

16 points by jasonlbaptiste 18y ago

nazgulnarsil 18y ago
the article mentions that "entrepreneur" studies are being added to many curriculums. this is fantastic, if the baby boomers retire fast enough there might be a chance of real capitalism returning to the USA. entrepreneurs drive every increase in standard of living.
- dangrover 18y ago
  For some reason, I find an oxymoron in phrases like "entrepreneur curriculum."
  - ionfish 18y ago
    Quite. Surely we would be better improving the curriculum so that children have a better chance of learning to think critically and imaginatively about all classes of problems, rather than adding narrow vocational studies. A world where everyone is an entrepreneur in spirit may be utopian; a world where everyone is an entrepreneur in the limited sense that governments and educational systems think of them sounds utterly dystopian.
- lancashire 18y ago
  I took a new entrepreneurial module for computer scientists in my last year of university. It was a nice idea but in truth we would have all been better off if we'd been given a link to pg's essays and been told to go home.
pxlpshr 18y ago
Rahim Fazal, co-founder of Involver, started his first business when he was in high school, and actually told his parents he was dealing drugs -- just so they wouldn't find out about his company and make him focus more on his schoolwork. it's sad that our society is soo conditioned to corporate ladders... when in fact entrepreneurs are the bread and butter of our economy.
- ojbyrne 18y ago
  So how exactly does that work? Hey, mom, dad, I don't have time for school, I'm too busy slinging... If he's from the neighborhood where that actually works, I very much doubt that he'd get funding from anyone. In other words, I'm calling bullshit.
  - zandorg 18y ago
    But he might not need funding, depending on whether it's an Intellectual Property (IP) company or a franchise, or time hungry, manpower needed, etc etc.
    - ojbyrne 18y ago
      So I looked further and on their about page it says he has an MBA from the top business school in Canada. Again I call bullshit, either on the story or on the MBA.
kleneway 18y ago
Last year I checked out this list and was shocked to see that one of the top 30 was a girl that I had dated a few years back! If only I had just "listened" or "not made out with her best friend", I'd be set for life.
mwinters58 18y ago
and another year has passed and I see this list, realizing I'm getting closer and closer to 30 (ok i'm not that close yet). Does anyone else feel that it's about time for themselves to stop reading the lists and start building something?
- timr 18y ago
  Don't sweat it. Not that long ago, you didn't have a prayer of starting a successful business before the age of 30. The 20-year-old founder is a very recent fad. The demographics may be shifting, but it isn't your fault.
  - pchristensen 18y ago
    I wouldn't call the 20 yr old founder a fad but rather a new development. I think that the new economics of distribution mean that starting a company at 20 with no cash will be a permanent option. I do think that it will take a culture shift towards entrepreneurialism to make it more prevalent though. (full disclosure: I'm 28 with no startup)
    - timr 18y ago
      Maybe. My guess is that the market for those companies that can be started with little or no money will become saturated (this has probably already started to happen), and the returns will fall. This will dampen some of the current frenzy for young founders.
deleted 18y ago
[deleted]
anamax 18y ago
> Rahim Fazal, co-founder of Involver, started his first business when he was in high school, and actually told his parents he was dealing drugs Um, dealing drugs is a biz. Some dealers are owners. Some are employees. Some are contractors. And, a lot of dealers in the owner/contractor categories are under 30.

the article mentions that "entrepreneur" studies are being added to many curriculums. this is fantastic, if the baby boomers retire fast enough there might be a chance of real capitalism returning to the USA. entrepreneurs drive every increase in standard of living.

dangrover 18y ago
For some reason, I find an oxymoron in phrases like "entrepreneur curriculum."
- ionfish 18y ago
  Quite. Surely we would be better improving the curriculum so that children have a better chance of learning to think critically and imaginatively about all classes of problems, rather than adding narrow vocational studies. A world where everyone is an entrepreneur in spirit may be utopian; a world where everyone is an entrepreneur in the limited sense that governments and educational systems think of them sounds utterly dystopian.
lancashire 18y ago
I took a new entrepreneurial module for computer scientists in my last year of university. It was a nice idea but in truth we would have all been better off if we'd been given a link to pg's essays and been told to go home.

pxlpshr 18y ago

Rahim Fazal, co-founder of Involver, started his first business when he was in high school, and actually told his parents he was dealing drugs -- just so they wouldn't find out about his company and make him focus more on his schoolwork. it's sad that our society is soo conditioned to corporate ladders... when in fact entrepreneurs are the bread and butter of our economy.

ojbyrne 18y ago
So how exactly does that work? Hey, mom, dad, I don't have time for school, I'm too busy slinging... If he's from the neighborhood where that actually works, I very much doubt that he'd get funding from anyone. In other words, I'm calling bullshit.
- zandorg 18y ago
  But he might not need funding, depending on whether it's an Intellectual Property (IP) company or a franchise, or time hungry, manpower needed, etc etc.
  - ojbyrne 18y ago
    So I looked further and on their about page it says he has an MBA from the top business school in Canada. Again I call bullshit, either on the story or on the MBA.

kleneway 18y ago

Last year I checked out this list and was shocked to see that one of the top 30 was a girl that I had dated a few years back! If only I had just "listened" or "not made out with her best friend", I'd be set for life.

mwinters58 18y ago

and another year has passed and I see this list, realizing I'm getting closer and closer to 30 (ok i'm not that close yet). Does anyone else feel that it's about time for themselves to stop reading the lists and start building something?

timr 18y ago
Don't sweat it. Not that long ago, you didn't have a prayer of starting a successful business before the age of 30. The 20-year-old founder is a very recent fad. The demographics may be shifting, but it isn't your fault.
- pchristensen 18y ago
  I wouldn't call the 20 yr old founder a fad but rather a new development. I think that the new economics of distribution mean that starting a company at 20 with no cash will be a permanent option. I do think that it will take a culture shift towards entrepreneurialism to make it more prevalent though. (full disclosure: I'm 28 with no startup)
  - timr 18y ago
    Maybe. My guess is that the market for those companies that can be started with little or no money will become saturated (this has probably already started to happen), and the returns will fall. This will dampen some of the current frenzy for young founders.

deleted 18y ago

[deleted]

anamax 18y ago

> Rahim Fazal, co-founder of Involver, started his first business when he was in high school, and actually told his parents he was dealing drugs Um, dealing drugs is a biz. Some dealers are owners. Some are employees. Some are contractors. And, a lot of dealers in the owner/contractor categories are under 30.