An interesting qoute from Joichi Ito – recently appointed director @ MITmedia lab, VC, and 2 time college dropout:
“I don’t disrespect academia, it’s just that I have never fit into any of their patterns.”
People often point out that the best entrepreneurs don’t go to uni, and a recent initiative in the US involves investors paying young people to put off uni for at least a couple of years http://is.gd/yY1Pb1 (disclaimer – shameless PR plug…).
All this has made some wonder why do a degree at all, and it’s a fair point to make in some instances.
Discovering the entrepreneurial path takes some longer than others. Just like astronauts, the lucky few figure it out very early on. Others become corporates, enslaved for decades before mustering up the will to go it alone. Student Entrepreneurs is set up for the people who figure it out whilst at uni.
The quote above got us wondering when it was that things clicked for you. At what point did you realise the normal patterns of school => uni => job didn’t work for you? For me, it came three quarters into a finance major, before realizing I’d like a corporate career like the proverbial kick in the crotch. I dropped the finance class I was enrolled in (the last to complete a major), and haven’t looked back since.
What’s your story?
As for myself, I decided to do what I’m currently doing now (being in Australia instead of working back in Singapore, being part of the SE club and working on my other web projects) out of having series of hard thinking on what I really wanted to do with my life.
The easy thing is to slip into the omnipresent rat-race – go to University, get a degree, get a job, get that car and house, work your way up the corporate ladder, and work so hard that you may end up hurting yourself (ie. health and well-being) and others (ie. relationships and neglience towards friends and family). So that was out.
Then, I thought about it again. I want to pursue things which I will not regret doing at the end of the day. (This is a great reminder: http://ohdarling.posterous.com/nurse-reveals-the-top-5-regrets-people-make-o) Work that brings deep meaning and fulfilment to me. Work that helps and inspires others along the way. And work that challenges convention, questions the status quo and gets me to churn my creative juices.
Therefore, entrepreneurship is an excellent platform for me to marry the common problems and challenges people face, with innovative and creative solutions that can make their lives better. People say that I have the knack for thinking out of the box and coming up with unconventional and revolutionary ideas….hahaaa….so I guess that’s why entrepreneurship is my cup of tea.
If the above link isn’t working, try this:
http://ohdarling.posterous.com/nurse-reveals-the-top-5-regrets-people-make-o
Interesting thoughts dom.
My are along the same line – entrepreneurship is way more interesting.
Regarding the comment on being ‘enslaved’ to a corporate job, I got a piece of advice from a successful entrepreneur that one should join the job market first and then start your own business (supposedly higher chances of success with industry knowledge and contacts – HP people have been setting up firms to supply to HP for decades)
Any thoughts?
I think mine was due partly to the influence from my grandfather. He was passionate entrepreneur and has inspired me in many ways. He started with literally nothing in possession and has made it so far owing to his undying persistence and drive for success. I would really love to replicate and live out that same amount of passion that he demonstrated during his time on earth. Importantly, I want to make him proud.
On top of that, I agree whole-heartedly with the thoughts of Dominic’s as those are some of which rekindled my passion for entrepreneurship whenever in doubt.
Lastly, I’m also in favor of having a potential limitless amount of income when working for myself as opposed to the restricted wage under an employer. A greater alignment of interests would also be achieved. Agree?
My previous mentor from when i was in year 10 told me that traditional education teaches students to be workers, not leaders. From then on, I’ve always considered myself an entrepreneur, i just didn’t know what it was called until i met Amir.
For me, entrepreneurship is more of a mindset than an occupation, with an ever increasing amount of startups and giant corporations that will eventually (in my opinion) monopolise most markets, making little or no skill trades harder and harder to entrepreneuriate.
At this current time i believe that tertiary education is still important, as well as a study of entrepreneurship in the sidelines.
I believe in world peace, but don’t believe in the traditional education system will get us there. What i think we need to make this world a better place is with the entrepreneurial mindset and greater technologies, not with MBA’s and leeching off consumers for profit, although they are still necessities in the monetary society we live in today.
For me entrepreneurship has taught me to open my mind (like what my mentor said about the education system) because somethings that are so obvious are so integrated with modern day society that everyone tends to overlook it.
Why did i chose the entrepreneurial path? to become filthy rich. Not so i can have everything that i want, but because in the modern day civilisation governed by a monetary system where greed controls, having a limitless amount of money will give me the power to change the world and make it a better place.
I always had an interest in entrepreneurship from a young age or perhaps, the money-making scheme while doing something you enjoy. I remembered when I was in year 5, I set up a “carnival” full of random activities and bought cakes, cookies, etc which I sold it twice the price but that only extended to my family members, which now I look back and think it was actually pretty lame, but fun.
However, that spirit of entrepreneurship was later evoked when I was around year 11, the time I seriously believed that VCE was the biggest waste of my time ever (p.s my dream was to open a japanese restaurant). I remembered asking myself why on earth do I have to finish VCE just to follow the standards of the society? But being asian as I will always be, my parents have greatly instill this belief that I have to complete VCE or Uni if not, I think I have to pretty much change my surname.
I guess the main reason being why I want to be an entrepreneur is because of the freedom I can enjoy without being restricted by my boss. However, the most important part is I want to create something of my own; that’s ultimately the kind of legacy I want to live out my life for.
Coming from Asian background, I was taught that getting a good education and career is what we have to do to have a comfortable life without questioning it at all. I have always wanted to be rich, but thought that following the common path – school — university — work is the way to go.
Then I was given the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by my uncle. The book totally changed my mindset and made me realised that we are working for money if we are an employee, but if we have a business, we get the money to work for us (i.e. sustainable passive income). Since then, I found my interest in entrepreneurship.
The biggest influence is my involvement in SE. I met a lot of university students who are already working on their startup. This inspired me – if they can do it, why can’t I. So I started! =)
I come from a very entrepreneurial background, My parents own their own importing industry, my aunties and uncles are similar with their own cafes and telecommunications companies. So from a young age i have been exposed to a very rough entrepreneurial environment.
My parents learnt everything along the way, no real education but still managed to build a small business. That is why i believe if get some real education i can get even more exposure.
I have been always interested in starting up my own business and by participating in all these events i believe that it can give a good kick start.
Society is based on the normal patterns of going to school then to university and then getting a job in a profession that you were qualified in from your degree. Skipping these normal steps is a big risk to take and I believe they should only be taken if you have to ability and backing to do so.
I have had entrepreneurial ideologies imprinted into me from an early age from my family, and have also been given the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad to read which really changed my mindset about working for corporates and being in the “rat race” where people slave away on minimum incomes to try and pay off their houses and other assets. What we need is a way we can get our assets to work for us and provide us with passive income.
Ultimately my conclusion from this is that for me to be satisfied with my achievements in life, working for a corporate will just not be sufficient for the income I require, only a large business would be able to generate this. I need to leave something that has an impact on society and this could be philanthropic or otherwise.
Perpetual optimism can be a force multiplier.
The incestuous relationship between government and big business thrives in the dark.