Dec
16
PayPal’s Founder Offering Entrepreneurs $100,000 to Drop Out of College?
Do successful entrepreneurs really need a college degree? (note addition of the word successful)
We have had this conversation before at Homeschool Entrepreneur, but from a very different perspective. Homeschoolers are considerably divided in their philosophy on the intrinsic need for a college degree, regardless of the weight ‘the world’ puts on the value of that piece of paper. I’m confident that if your young adult is currently in college that you wouldn’t want him/her to drop out immediately to pursue entrepreneurship.
However, if you look a little closer, this $100,000 giveaway isn’t what the headlines might lead you to believe at first glace.
The Thiel Fellowship is a $100,000 grant that PayPal founder Peter Thiel will be awarding early next year to 20 aspiring entrepreneurs under 20 years of age. The entrepreneurs selected will continue their learning in a big way with Thiel’s personal network of tech entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and philanthropists. In the spirit of Facebook and other cultural phenomenon created by ‘college dropouts’, they will offer mentoring, training and employment opportunities during a two-year program with the intent of teaching the recipients about “creating disruptive technologies”.
While the headlines appear to encourage students to simply drop out of college and become an entrepreneur, Peter Thiel is looking for something quite different, in fact, he’s hoping to change the world.
On the front page of the application for this Thiel Fellowship, PayPal founder Thiel says,
“Our world needs more breakthrough technologies . . . . This fellowship will encourage the most brilliant and promising young people not to wait on their ideas, either. The Thiel Fellows will change the world and call it a senior thesis.”
I don’t think this applies to your average dropout.
Asked about the value of a college education, Peter Thiel said this in a press release:
“University is a tremendously valuable experience, but when entrepreneurs are ready to launch, they should do so immediately, rather than sticking around to satisfy expectations of a full four years of college or eight of grad school.”
Deadline to apply is Dec. 31, and fellows will be announced in early 2011. Applicants must be under 20 years of age as of Dec 15, 2010. There is also an option of applying in teams of 4 or less.
Read more about what the Thiel Fellowship really is (and even apply) at http://thielfoundation.org
Vanessa Richardson at Wallet Pop also wrote an excellent article explaining this in detail and is well worth reading at: http://www.walletpop.com/2010/12/14/100-000-cash-grants-for-dropouts-only/
In defense of finishing college….read this!
At Harvard Business Review, the publicity of the The Thiel Fellowship spurred an article supporting the importance of finishing school before launching out entitled, “Does an Entrepreneur Need a College Degree?”
In this article the author states:
“As a college student in Nigeria, many of my classmates left school to start businesses thinking they would become moguls before the rest of us completed college. None succeeded. The ones who completed college and got into entrepreneurship are doing much better. They are the ones whose companies are now entering into joint partnerships with multinational companies. Their confidence and better vision in the market helps them scale and pick opportunities.”
So. . .
What do YOU think?
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More From HomeschoolEntrepreneur
Dec
01
14 Goal Setting Tips For Parents
The ‘shoulda-woulda-coulda’ monster is always knocking at my door when I read books or articles about helping your children set goals. It’s one thing I wish I ‘woulda’ spent more time doing with my now grown children. Thankfully, our children grow up in spite of us, and I’m always grateful God is in control!
In training your young entrepreneurs, goal setting is a critical skill for efficient business management. However, it you are like me, many of us struggle with the habit of setting and resetting goals.
“Why Wasn’t I Told?” is part of the title of the book these 14 goal-setting steps are taken from. The author, Lisa McInnes-Smith, writes and speaks all over the world encouraging others. The results she hopes to inspire is purpose-driven people who will in turn relate to and inspire those around them.
*14 Goal Setting Tips For Parents:
1. Know your purpose for living and decide what you want to achieve
2. Write it down as if it is already happening
3. Write down 5 good reasons why you want to achieve it
4. Decide how long it will take to achieve your goal
5. Write out a list of all the things you need to do to achieve your goal
6. Write down the obstacles you’ll have to overcome
7. Decide whether you’re prepared always to keep trying (PERSIST! KEEP TRYING!)
8. Imagine yourself achieving your goal – take time to sit or lie quietly and see yourself doing the activity perfectly in your mind
9. Write down whose help you’ll need- most goals require help from others, or maybe their support and encouragement
10. Write down any special information you’ll need to know or learn
11. Start immediately
12. Do a little every day
13. Read your goal out loud three times every day at three different times in the day
14. Keep adding new goals.
There are many ways to approach goal setting for adults and children, and like they say, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink”.
….However, God’s Word NEVER returns void, so ‘train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it‘.
Habits
I believe that helping our children develop good habits is one of the best things we can do for them. With three grown and married children I already see many of the good (and bad) habits they took with them. I know we aren’t responsible for everything our children do as adults, but we do what we can in the short time you have, right?
*Taken from the book:
…I’m a Walking Talking Miracle by Lisa McInnes-Smith. (pg 9)
Find this book at Amazon: I’m a Walking, Talking Miracle: Why Wasn’t I Told?
More From HomeschoolEntrepreneur
Nov
30
Lesson Plans and Games to Learn Practical Money Skills
Learning practical money skills seems to be one of those things that most of us have learned through trial and error. ( Emphasis on error). I believe that more public schools are now incorporating practical financial education into their curriculum, and there are even a few relevant homeschool curricula that are worthy of consideration. However, when is a good time to insert it into our already full schedules? Maybe by playing games here and there until you buy a full program?
Visa has created some games and lesson plans free for the picking that will (in theory) teach your children and young adults the practical money skills they need to make wise money choices in the future. Addressing many age levels, it’s something that can be done for a brief time here and there as a fun learning ‘time-out’ or however you see fit, of course. I haven’t looked at the lesson plans they are offering, but I do like the variety of ages they target, because the younger they start learning this stuff the better, don’t you think?
Practical Money Skills.com is a site with a wealth of good information for everyone. There are games for all ages (over 9 or 10, probably), lesson plans for teens, financial calculators, and “Economy 101″. Well worth checking out, especially if you have teens at home.
We have placed the ‘Financial Football‘ on our site for you to try, and the rest can be found at: http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/
Nov
29
Best Cyber Monday Deals For Entrepreneurs-especially Homeschooling Entrepreneurs!
I never want to promote buying anything that you can’t afford, or don’t need….but when it’s time to purchase those items you’ve been considering for awhile, Cyber Monday is the time to take action! Here’s the best deals we have found for Homeschooling Entrepreneurs:
Well, the first steal of a deal is the Toshiba Satellite Laptop at TigerDirect
for only $499! Only the best price I have ever seen on a laptop with these specs, and with a 17.3″ screen, 4GB Ram(6GB possible), Pentium processor, and so much more. See it at: Tiger Direct
HostGator is offering 50% off EVERYTHING. This is one of our own hosting companies (that I hope to be our only one at some point!) Get your hosting or start your own hosting company now while it’s on sale. Host Gator – Become a Web Host Today! Easy Money!
At Amazon for only $59 AND free shipping, Kodak C180 10 MP HD Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom and 2.4 LCD Screen (Silver)
. . . more coming, so check back later.
We plan to discount our Entrepreneur Program BIG! More at noon CST on Cyber Monday.
Nov
17
Help For Entrepreneurs From Springwise
In our last post we mentioned some unique ideas and food for thought from Springwise for your entrepreneurial urges, but forgot to mention several of the new businesses from Springwise that offer business or start up help. I’ve really noticed that business services and any sort of help you can offer to new or established businesses seems to be a sure success these days.
Could your Ebay business use some Kabbage?
Are you a struggling Ebay seller that has done well, but desperately need operating capital? Well, you don’t have to be desperate to ask Kabbage for help. Targeted specifically at well managed Ebay sellers, Kabbage is a new company that saw a need and met it. Many Ebay sellers have started from scratch and found Ebay to be an amazing venue to start a home business. However, you may have more business than you have capital to move forward. That’s why Kabbage was born.
When you apply, this company takes a look at your current Ebay business, and if they see potential in what you have done so far, they might help you out-almost immediately. Even if you have done a great job managing your money, capital is always one of those ‘minor details’ that can make or break a good business. Here is a company that saw the dilemma and provided a working solution:
Check it out: Kabbage
Visa has donated 1 Million to Kiva to help US Entrepreneurs
We’ve mentioned Kiva before, but mostly as a goodwill effort to entrepreneurs overseas. Now, in an effort to help entrepreneurs in our own America, Visa poured a million dollars into Kiva exclusively for US business start-ups.
Business Opportunities initially told Springwise about this, but you can go here to find out more and see if you qualify for assistance: http://www.kiva.org/
Human IPO.com-An amazing platform for new businesses
This is so amazing of a resource that it probably deserves a post of its own. It’s somewhat of a business incubator on steroids.You can find connections for your business, mentors in your niche, and so much more.
Entrepreneurs can use HumanIPO to build a business by sharing their ideas in order to find partners, mentors, consultants, foreign sales agents and investors. The home page of their website tells it all, so you really have to go there. Check it out: http://www.humanipo.com/
Need a Presentation Done? How does $99 sound-and is 48 hours too long?
Who would think you could get a quality presentation done for your business for as little as $99 and in only 48 hours? Sound impossible?
See for yourself: PPT Salon (for “well-groomed presentations” )
These were all in last week’s Springwise newsletter. As you can see, Springwise is a wealth of ideas for any entrepreneur wanna-be. Even for those businesses that are already up and running, as evidenced by Kabbage and Kiva.
Had to share this great website with you . . . . again. -Springwise.com
Have you used any of these websites? Would love to hear your experience1
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