As someone who dropped out of college to start a company and successfully exited, I
wanted to give my personal perspective on this.
Dropping out of college made me more successful than I would have been in the short/medium term, but closed a lot of doors for in the long term which I spend a lot of time often thinking about. Although it's quite possible I could go back to college and finish my degree, the opportunity costs for me now are a lot higher; I will most likely never go to grad school. I was quite fortunate to create a business with a great idea and an easy execution; however, looking back, I could of easily chosen something that wouldn't of worked. It's only with my greater maturity now that I can see how lucky I was.
On the flip side of the token, if I hadn't dropped out of college, I probably would be slaving away in a consulting/investment banking role and never would of gone down the startup route. I would not be as happy/wealthy as I am today and I probably wouldn't be as mature as I am now. I understand my limitations/vulnerabilities and strengths better as a result today.
Although I'm happy with my decision, I have been having a sort of a midlife crisis at this point.
All through life, there's always something ahead. In middle school, you have high school. In high school you have college; and theoretically in college, you have some kind of first job. After your first job, you get promoted/transfer to higher paying jobs etc….
For someone who drops out of college, the path can be a bit ambiguous. I've sold my first company and I'll most likely start another company soon, but what happens after that? Do i continue starting/selling companies for the rest of my life? Do I end up just becoming an angel investor/partner at a vc firm? Or do i just retire now and do all the fun/creative projects that I wanted to do as a kid? I guess I'm still searching…
I'm still searching because the toughest problem of my life wasn't to drop out or stay; that decision was easy. The toughest problem of my life is something I've been delaying solving and which I should of tried to solve sooner and which I may never solve.
The toughest problem of my life will be to learn and choose what makes me happy.
Dropping out of college made me more successful than I would have been in the short/medium term, but closed a lot of doors for in the long term which I spend a lot of time often thinking about. Although it's quite possible I could go back to college and finish my degree, the opportunity costs for me now are a lot higher; I will most likely never go to grad school. I was quite fortunate to create a business with a great idea and an easy execution; however, looking back, I could of easily chosen something that wouldn't of worked. It's only with my greater maturity now that I can see how lucky I was.
On the flip side of the token, if I hadn't dropped out of college, I probably would be slaving away in a consulting/investment banking role and never would of gone down the startup route. I would not be as happy/wealthy as I am today and I probably wouldn't be as mature as I am now. I understand my limitations/vulnerabilities and strengths better as a result today.
Although I'm happy with my decision, I have been having a sort of a midlife crisis at this point.
All through life, there's always something ahead. In middle school, you have high school. In high school you have college; and theoretically in college, you have some kind of first job. After your first job, you get promoted/transfer to higher paying jobs etc….
For someone who drops out of college, the path can be a bit ambiguous. I've sold my first company and I'll most likely start another company soon, but what happens after that? Do i continue starting/selling companies for the rest of my life? Do I end up just becoming an angel investor/partner at a vc firm? Or do i just retire now and do all the fun/creative projects that I wanted to do as a kid? I guess I'm still searching…
I'm still searching because the toughest problem of my life wasn't to drop out or stay; that decision was easy. The toughest problem of my life is something I've been delaying solving and which I should of tried to solve sooner and which I may never solve.
The toughest problem of my life will be to learn and choose what makes me happy.