The great thing about being an entrepreneur is it doesn’t demand a college degree, says Prashant Agarwal
So pronounced is the phenomenon of college dropouts becoming successful entrepreneurs that Peter Thiel has created the Thiel Fellowship for college dropouts and those who skip going to college. Thiel Fellows undergo two years of training and receive a $100,000 grant. In short, college is no longer considered the only passport to success. And in an economy driven by millennials, success as an entrepreneur and being a college dropout go hand-in-hand.
The great thing about being an entrepreneur is it doesn’t demand a college degree. Someone who is clever, aware, a good communicator, and conscientious can become a successful entrepreneur and eventually hire college graduates with sound technical skills to grow the business. Some of the most successful entrepreneurs started their businesses because they were bored in college or because the drudgery of working for someone else painted a bleak picture in their minds. They always had the entrepreneurship bug in them and today many of them enjoy success and prestige that eludes the majority of college graduates. But what makes being an entrepreneur so terrific is they needn’t struggle to find a job; rather those looking for jobs try to get the attention of entrepreneurs. How great is that?
Likelihood of success as an entrepreneur
Every entrepreneur has qualities that separate him or her from salaried employees. Whether it is an overwhelming desire for success, independence, a need to demonstrate leadership skills, a belief that a better service or product can be created, a hunger to prove themselves, an appetite for taking risk or a combination of each; entrepreneurs are a cut above those who work for others to earn their daily bread. Remarkable as they are, not every business is a success, rather more entrepreneurs fail than succeed. Yet enjoyment of the entrepreneurial journey itself is an important reason why many become entrepreneurs.
An entrepreneur needn’t answer to anyone but him or herself. He or she needn’t worry about being late to the office or about being out of a job tomorrow. They enjoy all the freedoms most people secretly crave but don’t dare try and attain. The icing of the cake is when entrepreneurs are successful they are rewarded financially and receive accolades from society. In short, when an entrepreneur is successful he or she receives the ultimate validation from society and perhaps even more importantly from themselves.
It’s cliché to say that Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerburg, Steve Jobs, and Ritesh Aggarwal are successful businessmen who dropped out of college, but that doesn’t make the statement less true. These men are today what royalty was in yesteryears and they choose to become entrepreneurs, it wasn’t something forced on them due to circumstances, proving that entrepreneurship is a viable career path. And the great thing is they have created legions of followers who emulate them because they know being an entrepreneur means an end to knocking on doors in search of a job.
The writer is Founder, Horses Stable