Text/Wuhuke
Oracle Ellison was invited to give a speech at the graduation ceremony of Yale University in 2015, saying to the effect that ten or even thirty years from now, if you look to your left, will you be a loser? If you look to your right, will you still be a loser? Losers, look at yourself, you are also a loser because you graduated from school and got a diploma. The richest man on the planet is a man who dropped out of school to start a business (referring to Bill Gates). The second richest man on the planet is still a man who dropped out of school to start a business (referring to himself who remembers that Ellison climbed to the top before and after) The third richest person on the rich list, Allen (partner of Bill Gates), was still a dropout and the ninth richest person (referring to Dell) was also a dropout. At that time, Dell Computer was at its peak and its founder Dell He also dropped out of school to start a business.
Ellison is a well-known arrogant in the American technology industry. One of his executives once said to him that the difference between Ellison and God is that Ellison thinks he is God and God does not think he is Ellison. Although what Ellison said was joking, the list of successful people who dropped out of school to start a business in the United States can indeed be very long. This topic has become one of the hot topics among Chinese college students’ entrepreneurship several times. Is it time to drop out of school and start a business?
However, when we truly understand the situation of dropout entrepreneurs in the United States, you will find that it does not matter whether dropping out of school is just a symptom or a formality. The important thing is, are you ready to drop out of school and start a business?
Let’s first look at Bill Gates’ entrepreneurial history and the process of studying and dropping out of school. Bill Gates started learning programming when he was thirteen years old. That was in the 1960s. In the late days, many people may not even know what a computer is, but Bill Gates loved programming. He would often be driven out of the school computer room by someone pulling him off his stool. Anyone who liked programming in the past can probably understand that kind of programming. Fun So it’s not difficult to understand Bill Gates’s mood at that time.
At the age of 2, Gates sold his first computer program, a time spreadsheet system, to his school for US dollars. Gates invented the pancake sorting algorithm when he was a freshman at Harvard University. The computational efficiency of the algorithm was surpassed by another algorithm thirty years after its publication, and it was only surpassed by one percent. In his sophomore year, Gates and his co-worker Paul Allen developed a version of the programming language for the first microcomputer. From these processes, we found that Bill Gates began programming learning and training in junior high school and had basic business experience in high school. Perhaps his computer knowledge is not as comprehensive as that of students with professional training, but his development level can enable him to find a good job. In fact, he started working for a company after dropping out of school, even though the job itself had an entrepreneurial nature.
Let’s take a look at the early life of Ellison, the founder of Oracle. Ellison was born in New York, USA. He was given away 3 months after he was born because his mother was an unmarried mother. He didn’t see him again until he was 18 years old. 's biological mother. In high school and even in college, Ellison did not show superhuman qualities or outstanding achievements. He studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Chicago and Northwestern University, but he did not get any diploma because his mind was not on studying at all. Later, he ran to California and became a programmer. He mastered programming skills through self-study.
In the early days of Ellison's career, he changed many jobs but did not work for a long time. From this aspect, people can speculate that he is a person with broad interests, poor patience and difficulty in focusing. This is also true. Whether according to Chinese or American perspectives, he was an out-and-out loser before the age of thirty-two, whether in school or in the workplace. When he was thirty years old, his wife could not bear to reject his repeated attempts to stay and finally abandoned him. However, the experience between high school graduation and the age of 32 tempered him. His subsequent success in running Oracle cannot but be said to be related to this experience. What is commendable is that no matter how down he is, he believes that he has a bright future. According to the Chinese saying, one is poor and has the ambition to stay strong and not fall into the clouds. His experience also shows that even the American education system still has unsuitable students. The key thing is that no matter what you choose, you must be responsible for your choice and make your own effort without regrets. But strictly speaking, it is a bit reluctant to classify Ellison among those who dropped out of school to start a business.
When we examine many entrepreneurs who dropped out of school or dropped out of school in the United States, we find that many of them are technical geniuses. In fact, when they started their businesses, their technical abilities not only exceeded their classmates but also exceeded many students who had graduated. For example, founder David Karp started working in an animation company when he was 20 years old. He dropped out of high school to work as a software consultant. So for them, even if they drop out of school and start a business, they can still get a good job relying on their skills. Dropping out of school and starting a business is a natural process.
In China, dropping out of school to start a business is generally not encouraged. On the one hand, it is related to the high risk of starting a business. On the other hand, many people only see the glory of successful entrepreneurship, but they do not have unique technical capabilities. If they fail, they may not only lose the opportunity to go to school but also Even survival may be a problem. Furthermore, China’s traditional imperial examination mentality is at work, so many people who have been successful in the workplace or business still want to hang out or even buy a diploma to decorate their appearance.
Another difference between American education and Chinese education is that American education does not advocate running schools behind closed doors but encourages students to get in touch with society and understand society. For example, the handbook of the Boy Scouts organization in the United States clearly teaches students (basically all elementary school students) how to deal with various possible harms (including harm from society). Therefore, American high school students have to go out into the society to do so. Volunteers also have part-time jobs.
So what we see is that students of the same age in the United States know more about society than students of the same age in China. The integration process with society is also much more natural. For China's student society and parents, they try to separate students from the real society for fear that students will learn badly. Therefore, the vast majority of college students have been living in the ivory tower of the school and have a superficial and naive understanding of society. This is why there are cases of female masters being deceived and trafficked.
In addition, the huge difference in business environment is also one of the reasons why it is not easy for Chinese students to start a business. In the United States, due to the relatively strict legal system, the phenomenon of commercial contracts not being performed is very rare (the author has not seen relevant information and just bases his judgment on personal experience). However, in China, the proportion of commercial contracts not being performed can be seen in the relevant Reports have reached % or higher. For students entering the society from school who lack social experience and business experience, an unfulfilled contract can kill a start-up company.
To sum up, you should be cautious when dropping out of school to start a business in China, but it is not absolutely impossible.
First of all, do you have experience in society (with all kinds of people) before?
Another question is whether you have mastered a livelihood skill. If your business fails, can you make a living based on your skills?
Finally, do you really like the entrepreneurial life or do you think the boss is superficial? Don’t just see thieves. Eating meat forgets that thieves will be beaten.
From a certain perspective, entrepreneurship is a way of life. The author knows a boss. The company grew from small to large and then from big to small. Finally, only the boss was left. Years passed by, but he never changed his obsession with entrepreneurship and had no complaints. No regrets. He is an engineering graduate from one of the top universities in China. If he had developed in the workplace with his intelligence, he would have been very successful.
Have you thought about starting a business, especially if you drop out of school? Are you ready?
WhatsApp
