
MIT-Trained Entrepreneurs Create Businesses With $2 Trillion a Year in Sales - jasonlbaptiste
http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2009/02/17/mit-trained-entrepreneurs-create-businesses-with-2-trillion-a-year-in-sales-kauffman-report-says/
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brunnock
MIT did a similar report in the 90s. I read it and found that they were
claiming that HP was an MIT company (Hewlett and Packard met at Stanford).

I couldn't find a list of companies in the latest report, but I would take it
with a grain of salt.

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bd
Exactly.

This reminds me of one thread some time ago here on HN about universities
claiming numbers of Nobel Prizes awarded to people affiliated with them [1].

This "$2 Trillion" statistics has the same problem - one person can have
affiliations with many universities (BSc, MSc, PhD, postdoc, faculty, all can
be at a different place). Additionally, a company can have founders from more
than one university.

[1] <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=400119>

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Spyckie
So... these are the guys that don't start web companies but build companies
based on real science, research, and products?

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moe
Smart people build successful stuff. News at 11...

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nandemo
You shouldn't take that for granted. That doesn't happen so often outside the
US.

I went to a top Brazilian university. I don't have any hard data but I'm sure
the number of companies founded by my university's alumni is _much_ lower than
MIT's.

MIT's level might have smarter people than a top Brazilian university but I
don't think that alone explains it. I live in Japan now. Most Tokyo University
graduates aren't interested in joining startups, let alone founding one.

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ShabbyDoo
Smart people are attracted to MIT. Smart people start companies. Does a degree
from MIT actually influence individuals' propensity to start firms or their
chances at success? It would be interesting to learn what the influence of SAT
scores ( for example)are upon entrepreneurial success compared to MIT
attendance.

