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I'm also with you! Just wanted to share my experience in case it helps as a data point. Gates, Jobs, and Zuck all famously dropped out of college of course. I

by Rapzid 3y ago

I'm also with you! Just wanted to share my experience in case it helps as a data point. Gates, Jobs, and Zuck all famously dropped out of college of course. It's an interesting and tricky social dynamic matching within and between these somewhat distinct groups.

bdjsiqoocwk 3y ago
Didn't they ask drop out from Harvard or something? It's a bit disingenuous to say that.
- tempusalaria 3y ago
  Steve Jobs went to an obscure private school called Reed which seems to be something he became obsessed with due to LSD. Zuck and Gates both dropped out of Harvard after founding their companies.
  - alephnerd 3y ago
    Reed is a great liberal arts college. Very intense and quirky academic culture, and being in Portland OR lends to an amazing college town vibe. Sometimes I wish I went there instead of my Alma mater.
dgfitz 3y ago
So did Elizabeth Holmes.
- swores 3y ago
  They were arguing success is possible without a college degree, not that lacking a college degree guarantees success.
  - dgfitz 3y ago
    No. They were naming famous people who dropped out of college.
    - swores 3y ago
      I didn't say it was a good argument, just want their intention was. But they did at least give examples that showed the claim was potentially valid, whereas your example wasn't relevant at all (nor did it make the point you've switched to about them not making an argument).
      - Rapzid 3y ago
        Yes, within the context of the "conversation" I was pointing out examples of why a required "enter your Ivy League history here" box might push away famously successful subset of startup founders. You could argue YC wants people that wouldn't be discouraged by that. I'd argue that due to survivorship bias that would be hard to quantify, and that YC is competing with others for the best ideas so they might just end up somewhere else. To expand a bit; I wasn't actually discouraged.. I was more put-off and slightly offended. It did make me stop filling out the co-founder match in the moment, but I was always planning to swing back around on it. There is a trend I notice where people just drop low effort argumentative responses. They aren't even fully realized counter arguments. I try not to engage when they are targeting me; it's better for a third party to shut them down. It's super bad on Reddit and unfortunately ruins r/dotnet .
hindsightbias 3y ago
> Gates, Jobs, and Zuck Harvard, Reed, Harvard. Any drop out from any of those has hurdled more than 98% of the general college corps. Or at least that would be a rational assumption by the VC cadre that is probably in the top 0.1% and an Ivy League grad.
- carabiner 3y ago
  [flagged]
- Rapzid 3y ago
  People are commenting on this but failing to stake out a real point. Is the point that just having been accepted to those schools is a strong signal? I would concede that it could be, sure. But a lot of people drop out of Ivy league schools and simply flame out. Many would consider dropping out of those schools after a few semesters as failure. And many companies still require degrees; a few semesters at Harvard won't cut it. I guess my point is that college dropouts are also successful at creating startups. Two have started the two most valuable companies in the world.
  - brandall10 3y ago
    I'd argue getting accepted is almost the entire signal. These people dropped out to chase extremely lucrative business opportunities - that they created as a student, likely aided by structural/networking support inside that institution - due to timing risk. One could argue they not only got into a highly prestigious institution, but they quickly leapfrogged everyone there. That's the opposite of flaming out.

by Rapzid 3y ago

bdjsiqoocwk 3y ago

Didn't they ask drop out from Harvard or something? It's a bit disingenuous to say that.

tempusalaria 3y ago
Steve Jobs went to an obscure private school called Reed which seems to be something he became obsessed with due to LSD. Zuck and Gates both dropped out of Harvard after founding their companies.
- alephnerd 3y ago
  Reed is a great liberal arts college. Very intense and quirky academic culture, and being in Portland OR lends to an amazing college town vibe. Sometimes I wish I went there instead of my Alma mater.

dgfitz 3y ago

So did Elizabeth Holmes.

swores 3y ago
They were arguing success is possible without a college degree, not that lacking a college degree guarantees success.
- dgfitz 3y ago
  No. They were naming famous people who dropped out of college.
  - swores 3y ago
    I didn't say it was a good argument, just want their intention was. But they did at least give examples that showed the claim was potentially valid, whereas your example wasn't relevant at all (nor did it make the point you've switched to about them not making an argument).
    - Rapzid 3y ago
      Yes, within the context of the "conversation" I was pointing out examples of why a required "enter your Ivy League history here" box might push away famously successful subset of startup founders. You could argue YC wants people that wouldn't be discouraged by that. I'd argue that due to survivorship bias that would be hard to quantify, and that YC is competing with others for the best ideas so they might just end up somewhere else. To expand a bit; I wasn't actually discouraged.. I was more put-off and slightly offended. It did make me stop filling out the co-founder match in the moment, but I was always planning to swing back around on it. There is a trend I notice where people just drop low effort argumentative responses. They aren't even fully realized counter arguments. I try not to engage when they are targeting me; it's better for a third party to shut them down. It's super bad on Reddit and unfortunately ruins r/dotnet .

hindsightbias 3y ago

> Gates, Jobs, and Zuck Harvard, Reed, Harvard. Any drop out from any of those has hurdled more than 98% of the general college corps. Or at least that would be a rational assumption by the VC cadre that is probably in the top 0.1% and an Ivy League grad.

carabiner 3y ago
[flagged]
Rapzid 3y ago
People are commenting on this but failing to stake out a real point. Is the point that just having been accepted to those schools is a strong signal? I would concede that it could be, sure. But a lot of people drop out of Ivy league schools and simply flame out. Many would consider dropping out of those schools after a few semesters as failure. And many companies still require degrees; a few semesters at Harvard won't cut it. I guess my point is that college dropouts are also successful at creating startups. Two have started the two most valuable companies in the world.
- brandall10 3y ago
  I'd argue getting accepted is almost the entire signal. These people dropped out to chase extremely lucrative business opportunities - that they created as a student, likely aided by structural/networking support inside that institution - due to timing risk. One could argue they not only got into a highly prestigious institution, but they quickly leapfrogged everyone there. That's the opposite of flaming out.