

Ask HN: Successful startups that didn't come from top-tier Universities - DallaRosa

Reading about startups I always have the feeling that most of the "hyped" startups come from the Ivy League so sometimes it seems like it can be very difficult for someone who didn't come from that circle to succeed, specially in the Valley.
Can you give any examples (or are you an example) of a successful startup that didn't come from a topnotch university? Would you mind sharing some of your story, the problems you had to deal (if any) for not being from a top-tier university?
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ahsanhilal
Youtube: Chad Hurley went to Indiana Uni. of Pennsylvania. Steve Chen and
Jawed Karim went to University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Yelp: Jeremy Stoppelman went to University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Slide: Max Levchin went to University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

Foursquare: Naveen went to Worcester Inst. and Kings College. Dennis Crowley
went to Syracuse and Tisch School at NYU

Tumblr: David Karp never went to college.

Actually, I would say that there would very little correlation between going
to an Ivy League/ top 10 school and building a company. Most people at such
schools are more are interested in getting into Investment Banking,
Consulting, Pvt Equity jobs than building companies. Going to a good college
would a weak variable, if relevant at all, when deciding on the probability of
future success for a startup.

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jebagu
There have actually been a few academic studies on this topic by Vivek Wadwha
and the Kauffman foundation:

"An Ivy League degree may get you a job as an investment banker or VC, but it
won’t increase your odds of becoming a successful entrepreneur."

"In other words, 81% of the tech company founders came from “regular” schools.
To make my colleagues at Harvard feel better (and to keep my job), I’ll
acknowledge that the Ivies represented 8% of the sample even though those
schools only graduate 1.6% of American students."

[http://techcrunch.com/2009/10/24/got-degree-envy-no-
worries-...](http://techcrunch.com/2009/10/24/got-degree-envy-no-worries-you-
can-still-make-it-big/)

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abbasmehdi
Look @ both sides of the data - how many startups fail that come from top tier
schools?

I think top tier schools push people towards leadership and entrepreneurship
and that is what causes them to start so many companies – not because they are
genetically better or something you have no control over. It is all up to the
individual. Don't be deterred. Being successful is a personal choice (often a
hard one).

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DallaRosa
Thanks for the answers!

I always felt that top-tiers had an advantage because of their networking
(with those same finance guys who can easily introduce them to a Ron Conway or
a Peter Thiel)

I know it might sound like a silly question but sometimes you need to hear
that other people that didn't come from the top also got there so you can keep
on moving on. Again, thanks everyone for the answers!

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massarog
Few billionaires on this list that dropped out...most didn't go to top-tier
universities <http://www.twincommas.com/billionaire-college-dropouts>

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sandroyong
top schools does not equal to successful starups; idea + drive + timing +
general business sense (ie know ur market, thinking outside the box,
calculated risk taker, etc) are some of the qualities I equate to with
successful startus; don't know if top tier schools offer such courses? lol

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pajju
Good point. You become an Entrepreneur, it just happens; you don't go to a
business school to learn that. It's more the Risk attribute that takes you
there and timing as you said.

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pajju
great companies are built by great minds. They are all across the world; they
may not even have a completed degree.

Stay with right people, build the right communities around you. Its a long
term journey. You will be definitely part of something big!

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msinghai
Steve Jobs. Yes, Apple still believes that it's a startup.

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ddrmaxgt37
Apple

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markhall
Grooveshark: University of Florida

