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Does anybody else read these stories and think "crap... I'm 23 and I haven't received any awards, nor did I go to MIT..."? I know it's not requisite in the sta

Does anybody else read these stories and think "crap... I'm 23 and I haven't received any awards, nor did I go to MIT..."? I know it's not requisite in the startup world to go to a top school, but every time I read a story like this I have to mentally justify my education and qualifications. I feel I'm a decent hacker who can produce, but I feel my background pales in comparison to guys like these.

ernestipark 15y ago
It's easy to feel that way, but everybody does (including people at MIT). You just have to do your best not to compare yourself to others and do what you can do well and to the fullest.
- Scaevolus 15y ago
  Don't compare yourself to a strawman stuffed with everyone else's achievements. Everyone looks bad compared to the aggregate. Individual differences are more manageable. Stripe's success has more to do with hard work than genius.
mahyarm 15y ago
After you work with a few MIT grads and Stanford Comp Sci. PhDs you realize that they're not that special. Their pedigree does not measure how well they'll do as a startup founder or software developer per say. It's about your drive, direct skill and ability. One University of Toronto Math postdoc I talked to in the airplane shuttle back to Palo Alto, and now works at stanford says that Stanford Undergrads have about the level of difficulty at the UoT students, except they do more extra curriculars. It might be related to the weather. University degree Brands are cheap and lazy filters, and on top of that, their a branding upon people, one of the most inconsistent 'products' in the world. Degrees indirectly correspond to the persons ability and the amount of wealth their family has. Don't look at them more than that.
- trueblueponies 15y ago
  It goes both ways. Sometimes it means their family was loaded, but it can mean you're wicked smart too.
trueblueponies 15y ago
I think these guys are particularly unique and talented. But I don't think most follow this trajectory of amazingness. Lots of incredible founders never went to an Ivy League school. Most didn't attend MIT or Harvard.

ernestipark 15y ago

It's easy to feel that way, but everybody does (including people at MIT). You just have to do your best not to compare yourself to others and do what you can do well and to the fullest.

Scaevolus 15y ago
Don't compare yourself to a strawman stuffed with everyone else's achievements. Everyone looks bad compared to the aggregate. Individual differences are more manageable. Stripe's success has more to do with hard work than genius.

mahyarm 15y ago

After you work with a few MIT grads and Stanford Comp Sci. PhDs you realize that they're not that special. Their pedigree does not measure how well they'll do as a startup founder or software developer per say. It's about your drive, direct skill and ability. One University of Toronto Math postdoc I talked to in the airplane shuttle back to Palo Alto, and now works at stanford says that Stanford Undergrads have about the level of difficulty at the UoT students, except they do more extra curriculars. It might be related to the weather. University degree Brands are cheap and lazy filters, and on top of that, their a branding upon people, one of the most inconsistent 'products' in the world. Degrees indirectly correspond to the persons ability and the amount of wealth their family has. Don't look at them more than that.

trueblueponies 15y ago
It goes both ways. Sometimes it means their family was loaded, but it can mean you're wicked smart too.

trueblueponies 15y ago

I think these guys are particularly unique and talented. But I don't think most follow this trajectory of amazingness. Lots of incredible founders never went to an Ivy League school. Most didn't attend MIT or Harvard.