VENTURES AFRICA – Inspirational books and blogs are perverse with
stories about successful people that were school dropouts. From Bill
Gates to Steve Jobs, many writers and speakers have sought to use
successful “drop out’ entrepreneurs as proof of the unimportance of
school. One of the latest examples of their flawed argument is Mark
Zuckerberg – the US $33.1 billion worth founder of social media giant
Facebook.
Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004 with some of his colleagues in
Havard University. A year later he dropped out of school to focus on the
social media site. Today, Facebook is the world’s biggest online
platform worth more than $200 billion, over half the GDP of South
Africa, Africa’s second largest and most developed economy. Many point
to Zuckerberg’s abrupt departure from school as a key contributor to his
entrepreneurial success, and as a validation of the unimportance of
formal education to making it in life. Aside the Facebook founder,
writers have also found strength in some other successful tech
entrepreneurs to push their “get out of school” campaign. An article on
Business Insider, quoting PayPal Co-Founder Peter Thiel, claimed college
“just isn’t worth it in the age of startups.” Ironically, Thiel holds
two university degrees in Philosophy and Law.
More Committed student than School Dropout
Young Zuckerberg (left) graduated with honours from the prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy
Although Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to quit school helped him grow his
campus idea into a multibillion dollar investment, the input of
education in making him a successful techpre
VENTURES AFRICA – Inspirational books and blogs are perverse with
stories about successful people that were school dropouts. From Bill
Gates to Steve Jobs, many writers and speakers have sought to use
successful “drop out’ entrepreneurs as proof of the unimportance of
school. One of the latest examples of their flawed argument is Mark
Zuckerberg – the US $33.1 billion worth founder of social media giant
Facebook.
Zuckerberg founded Facebook in 2004 with some of his colleagues in
Havard University. A year later he dropped out of school to focus on the
social media site. Today, Facebook is the world’s biggest online
platform worth more than $200 billion, over half the GDP of South
Africa, Africa’s second largest and most developed economy. Many point
to Zuckerberg’s abrupt departure from school as a key contributor to his
entrepreneurial success, and as a validation of the unimportance of
formal education to making it in life. Aside the Facebook founder,
writers have also found strength in some other successful tech
entrepreneurs to push their “get out of school” campaign. An article on
Business Insider, quoting PayPal Co-Founder Peter Thiel, claimed college
“just isn’t worth it in the age of start ups.” Ironically, Thiel holds
two university degrees in Philosophy and Law.
More Committed student than School Dropout
Young Zuckerberg (left) graduated with honors from the prestigious Phillips Exeter Academy
Although Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to quit school helped him grow his
campus idea into a multibillion dollar investment, the input of
education in making him a successful techpreneur can never be
over-emphasized. Mark was no doubt exceptional from childhood; at 12, he
created a messaging program, “Zucknet,” which his father even adapted
in his office. But talented as he was, Zuckerberg’s parents still had to
hire a private computer tutor to hone the whiz kid’s skills. The boy
wonder was also took schooling seriously; in high school he excelled in
literature, earning a diploma in classics. In his junior year he won
prizes in science (math, astronomy and physics) and classical studies,
and was also very active in sports. He reportedly can read and write
French, Hebrew, Latin, and ancient Greek, not traits of someone that was
uninterested or did not benefit from schooling.
Like Zuckerberg, Bill Gates’ successful career is rooted in the sound
education he acquired, starting from his early childhood, so too his
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, even if the latter influenced the
former to drop out of Harvard. Gates graduated from high school with a
National Merit Scholar—a US academic scholarship award, scoring 1590 out
of 1600 on the SAT. Steve Jobs, another weapon of drop out of school
advocates, credits his part-time classes in college with giving him
ideas that he used in developing the Mac. He had dropped out due to lack
of funds. “If I had never dropped in on that single calligraphy course
in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or
proportionally spaced fonts,” Jobs said in the commencement address he
gave at Stanford.
Frontline Supporters of Education
Zuckerbeg (with spouse Priscilla Chan) said in 2014 “the world’s most
innovative community shouldn’t also be a home for struggling public
schools.”
Even with his dropout status and jaw dropping success, Zuckerberg, like
Gates and most successful dropout entrepreneurs, continue to massively
support education; something he wouldn’t be doing if they didn’t believe
in the importance of schools. In 2010, Zuckerberg donated $100 million
to to Newark Public Schools of New Jersey state. Last year he and his
wife Priscilla Chan announced another $120 million donation to the
public schools of the San Francisco Bay Area. On the donation he said,
the world’s most innovative community shouldn’t also be a home for
struggling public schools,” a testament to the importance of schools in
developing successful innovators and entrepreneurs.
While university degrees cannot guarantee success in life, education and
school activity plays an invaluable role in sharpening skills, honing
talents and moulding the requisite character for success in life. Mark
Zuckerberg epitomises this. It is not surprising that he, like Bill
Gates, had two complete years at Harvard, during which they both testify
to benefiting greatly from the university’s resources, human and
material. Also, cutting your education is no sure ticket to
entrepreneurship, Zuckerberg didn’t leave the university until Facebook
was already blossoming. Thus, before we get overzealous with the dropout
status of these hyper successful guys, let’s sober up to the fact that
they were also very committed and hardworking students– the foundation
of their succesful careers.
neur can never be
over-emphasized. Mark was no doubt exceptional from childhood; at 12, he
created a messaging program, “Zucknet,” which his father even adapted
in his office. But talented as he was, Zuckerberg’s parents still had to
hire a private computer tutor to hone the whiz kid’s skills. The boy
wonder was also took schooling seriously; in high school he excelled in
literature, earning a diploma in classics. In his junior year he won
prizes in science (math, astronomy and physics) and classical studies,
and was also very active in sports. He reportedly can read and write
French, Hebrew, Latin, and ancient Greek, not traits of someone that was
uninterested or did not benefit from schooling.
Like Zuckerberg, Bill Gates’ successful career is rooted in the sound
education he acquired, starting from his early childhood, so too his
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, even if the latter influenced the
former to drop out of Harvard. Gates graduated from high school with a
National Merit Scholar—a US academic scholarship award, scoring 1590 out
of 1600 on the SAT. Steve Jobs, another weapon of drop out of school
advocates, credits his part-time classes in college with giving him
ideas that he used in developing the Mac. He had dropped out due to lack
of funds. “If I had never dropped in on that single calligraphy course
in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or
proportionally spaced fonts,” Jobs said in the commencement address he
gave at Stanford.
Front-lineSupporters of Education
Zuckerbeg (with spouse Priscilla Chan) said in 2014 “the world’s most
innovative community shouldn’t also be a home for struggling public
schools.”
Even with his dropout status and jaw dropping success, Zuckerberg, like
Gates and most successful dropout entrepreneurs, continue to massively
support education; something he wouldn’t be doing if they didn’t believe
in the importance of schools. In 2010, Zuckerberg donated $100 million
to to Newark Public Schools of New Jersey state. Last year he and his
wife Priscilla Chan announced another $120 million donation to the
public schools of the San Francisco Bay Area. On the donation he said,
the world’s most innovative community shouldn’t also be a home for
struggling public schools,” a testament to the importance of schools in
developing successful innovators and entrepreneurs.
While university degrees cannot guarantee success in life, education and
school activity plays an invaluable role in sharpening skills, honing
talents and molding the requisite character for success in life. Mark
Zuckerberg epitomizes this. It is not surprising that he, like Bill
Gates, had two complete years at Harvard, during which they both testify
to benefiting greatly from the university’s resources, human and
material. Also, cutting your education is no sure ticket to
entrepreneurship, Zuckerberg didn’t leave the university until Facebook
was already blossoming. Thus, before we get overzealous with the dropout
status of these hyper successful guys, let’s sober up to the fact that
they were also very committed and hardworking students– the foundation
of their successful careers.