3 ms·
Reposting my comment from the last time this was posted: This is super wrong. The Thiel Fellowship stopped betting on underdogs long, long ago. I invite anyone
by stuartjohnson12 3y ago
Reposting my comment from the last time this was posted:
This is super wrong. The Thiel Fellowship stopped betting on underdogs long, long ago. I invite anyone reading this comment section to select a random recipient from the last few years go and look at two things:
1. What stage was their company at when they received the fellowship?
2. What is their parents' career?
Every person who receives the Fellowship has already raised millions of dollars, sometimes even tens of millions of dollars. Raising millions of dollars as a teenager isn't something you generally do without exceptional fortune or parents in the finance industry. Usually it's the latter.
I once met a TF recipient who ran a successful property lending company. What was his father's job? Multimillionaire owner of a large and successful property investment firm. Not hating on the guy, he was pretty cool and nice and his business went on to be successful (and he was for sure a hard worker, intelligent and ambitious), but the Fellowship slapping their name on his back didn't really change how the cards were stacked. At the very least, it wasn't the thing that moved the needle to him dropping out. I would be greatly surprised if, in the last 5 years, the Fellowship was the tipping point for even a single person dropping out of college.
Full disclosure on the conflict of interest though, I am a mediocre college dropout who was rejected post interview. I wouldn't have and still wouldn't turn down the $100k if it was offered. Money is great.
- wouldbecouldbe 3y agoIf that's the case, why would they even take the 100k?
- stuartjohnson12 3y agoIt's free money and a networking opportunity with a bunch of other people almost guaranteed to win by their upbringing. Why wouldn't they take the 100k? The TF doesn't take an equity share in your company, they just give you the cash.
- ceejayoz 3y agoThey’re taking the access to Thiel’s network. The $100k may just be incidental for many.
- Ekaros 3y agoBrand and some more connections to more money?
- gniv 3y agoI did that the last time you posted this comment. What I found was even sadder. Some (many?) of the companies are what I would call "hustles" -- keto drinks, home-made cosmetics. Their success I suspect lies on the initial effort put into networking and marketing. (There's nothing wrong in that, of course, it's just not interesting from a tech-startup pov.)
- stuartjohnson12 3y agoI'm not sure this is the case. My perception is that the majority of the things that get funded are legitimate tech companies working on genuinely interesting of products. For example, take the 2023 list: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230208005685/en/Thiel-Foundation-Announces-Next-Thiel-Fellow-Class https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230208005685/en/Thi... All of these are real tech companies. What's less real about the hustle is the fact I picked a random entry off the list and checked his instagram, and sure enough there's a photo of him taking flying lessons as a teenager. Check the company stage and sure enough he's already raised just under $7M after being backed by Y Combinator 2 years prior. Cool guy, smart guy, clearly worked hard and built something valuable. I don't hold it against him in the slightest. I don't hold it against YC or the program managers for the TF either - they clearly picked the guy most likely to build a billion dollar company. But did the Fellowship make him a winner? Absolutely not.
- gniv 3y agoI don't doubt it. Me I noticed things like Sunniva, Simple Sugars, Smart Sweets.
- stuartjohnson12 3y agoFair enough.