

Ask HN: What should I do as a High School Senior to get funded in College? - wildboarcharlie


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hacknat
Getting funded in College is a sad goal to have, in my opinion. Your primary
concern in College should be learning how to break out of the sad shell that
you cultivated, by accident, in high school. Learn how to court the opposite
sex, smoke your first blunt, gain 15 pounds, flunk 2nd semester calculus, or
get a tattoo or disease that you’ll one day regret. Any of these options will
do more to make you a successful entrepreneur, in the long run, than learning
how to get funded…in College!

I know a few guys who got funded in College. One of them was the smartest guy
in our CS program. He got some mobile app contracts from ABC, the New Yorker,
and some other well known media companies, back when the first iPhone first
came out. He made a lot of money those few years. His longtime and very sweet
girlfriend dumped him, he lost most of his friends, and he gained about 75
pounds. He did have a Mercedes though. Back there and back then I never
thought I would live up to the technical talent that I witnessed from him in
our College years, but playing with one of his recent apps I see how much more
talented than him I’ve become (I’m probably still not as smart though). Plus,
he’s making mobile apps for a living now. Yuck! This is what happens to most
of the people who are Wunderkinds.

There are a glimmering 0.01% who can truly do it. The Mark Zuckerbergs of the
world. The fact that you’re asking how to get funded in College indicates, to
me, that you are not a member of this elite 0.01% or even the constituent 1%
from which it draws.

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lowglow
funded in what way? for your startup?

no matter your age, just build a good product.

~~~
wildboarcharlie
I have a few ideas and I (think) I have the skills to build initial prototypes
but I'm really confused about how to "just start." Should I be looking for
potential co-founders in college? Should I learn more programming? What do I
do after I build a good product to attract investors? Anyhow, sorry for all
that rambling.

~~~
mswen
Have you built a website or mobile app yet? Do that first, prove to yourself
that you have the skills to build a prototype.

This phase requires almost no money, so don't worry about funding yet. Just
start building things. What is confusing about starting?

