
Max Levchin: "The last time I got kids to drop out of college, they all bought houses for cash." - byrneseyeview
http://www.ironport.com/company/pp_sf_chronicle_08-22-2005.html
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jmtame
Max Levchin is an interesting person, I've had an opportunity to speak with
him before.

He seems to be pretty engaged in the Facebook stuff right now.

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litepost
I like his Slide Facebook apps, but some of them need usability help (as do
most Facebook apps I've found) - as is being discussed in this current thread
also: <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31810>

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tx
I've worked with famous people who wanted to "do it again". The reality is
that most of them refuse to admit that luck played _some_ role in their last
(successful) venture. This made them very annoying to work with in practice.

Do not forget, however, that _"luck is when opportunity meets preparation"_ ,
but I find it amusing that most tech celebs cincerely do not believe that they
got a bit lucky in the first place and seem to think _very_ highly of
themselves. And asking kids to drop out of college because "they might buy a
house for cash" proves (IMO) that Max is probably falls into this category.

This is why it is very rare to see them "do it again". Seriously, how many can
you name? Besides Jobs.

My point is that statistically most super-successful companies (PayPal,
Google, Microsoft, EBay, YouTube, +hundreds more) were started by _smart and
lucky amateurs_ , this makes it less likely (statistically) for potential
college dropouts to buy house for cash if they go with Max.

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nostrademons
"Seriously, how many can you name?"

Mark Fletcher (eGroups, BlogLines). Joe Kraus (Excite, Jotspot). Ray Ozzie
(Visicalc, Lotus Notes, Groove). Evan Williams (Blogger, Twitter). Reid
Hoffman (Paypal, LinkedIn). Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore (Fairchild
Semiconductor, Intel). Eugene Kleiner (Fairchild Semiconductor, Kleiner
Perkins). William Durant (GM and Chevrolet). Henry Wells and William Fargo
(American Express and Wells Fargo).

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zach
Sure, what entrepreneur wouldn't love that -- smart CS students willing to
drop out of a top college to join their company?

I'm sure you've heard that Cortez destroyed the ships his conquistadors sailed
in on. If someone will do that on their own, well heck, that's a motivated
employee. One who's not looking for massages and free Odwalla, either.

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Alex3917
Getting college students to drop out of school isn't difficult.

After all, the less valuable your time, the lower your opportunity cost.

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jmtame
No, getting them to drop out is easy.

However, convincing them they should take a lower salary with you, instead of
working for Google, becomes an issue.

I'm walking away from a startup right now because they don't understand they
have a lot of competition. 1) other companies, 2) myself. I'm going to startup
on my own because the terms are terrible at my current startup.

~~~
Alex3917
Except for that Google wouldn't actually them without a 3.7 and a degree.

/Those who don't understand the Google hiring "algorithm" are doomed to re-
implement it.

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enriketuned
Personally I find trying to get kids to drop out of a college a little bit
unethical. Well yes "last time those kids could buy houses in cash", but Slide
or Slider is not Paypal. Levchin sure is confident about it but no one knows
where it will end. If a college student drops out on his own account - fair
enough. To lure kids to drop out, and then if the whole thing sinks - have to
kick them out? Personally for no amount of money, success or fame would I want
to place myself in that situation. I don't know about the U.S but in Europe,
applying as a dropout does not really improve your chances to get a job.

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mynameishere
_the Russian mafia_

A joke? Or is Levchin a member?

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jey
Maybe they tried to launder money through PayPal? PayPal apparently had to do
a _lot_ of anti-fraud work.

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kul
inspiring piece.

