Although iconic founders like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Mark Zuckerberg famously didn’t finish college, multiple studies show that the vast majority of successful startups had founders with bachelor’s or graduate degrees.
Despite this data, the appeal of a dropout founder persists, though VC enthusiasm for the ‘un-degreed’ is far from constant. It is a phenomenon that cycles in and out of fashion, and right now it is certainly having a moment amid the AI boom.
This trend is particularly evident during Y Combinator Demo Days, where founders are increasingly touting their dropout status in their one-minute pitches.
“I don’t believe YC formally tracks dropout status but, anecdotally, in recent batches, I was struck by how many founders highlight being a dropout from college, grad school, and even high school,” said Katie Jacobs Stanton, founder and general partner of Moxxie Ventures. “Being a dropout is a kind of credential in itself, reflecting a deep conviction and commitment to building. I think it’s perceived as something quite positive in the venture ecosystem.”
Although many of the leading founders of the AI wave are young, most still opted to stay for the diploma. For instance, Michael Truell, the CEO of Cursor, graduated from MIT, and Cognition co-founder Scott Wu graduated from Harvard.
Yet despite these examples, a growing number of aspiring entrepreneurs fear that staying to graduate means missing the most critical window of the AI building cycle. Some, like Brendan Foody, who co-founded Mercor, have famously dropped out of prestigious schools like Georgetown to pursue their startups.
As Kulveer Taggar, founder of the YC-focused venture firm Phosphor Capital, told TechCrunch: “There’s just this sense of urgency and maybe FOMO.” There is a calculation right now: “I can finish my degree, or I can just start building.”
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This fear is leading to extreme cases. One professor at an elite university recently described a student walking away from his degree in his final semester. That student was convinced that having a diploma would actually hurt his chances of getting funded.
While some founders fear that a diploma could be a negative signal, Yuri Sagalov, who leads General Catalyst’s seed strategy, suggests that VCs are less fixated on the dropout label, especially for students close to graduating: “I don’t think I’ve ever felt any different about someone who graduated or didn’t graduate when they’re in [their] fourth year and drop out.”
Even though self-taught tech prodigies can build startups without a formal education, Sagalov argues that there’s still value in the social network that a university creates and the brand of the university, even if the founder doesn’t receive a diploma.
‘You get a lot of the social value… because you can put the fact that you participated,’ Sagalov said. “Most people will look you up on LinkedIn and not care as much whether you finished or not.”
While many investors now believe founders can forego a university degree, not all VCs agree that young founders have an edge in this market.
Wesley Chan, co-founder of FPV Ventures, isn’t as eager to invest in dropouts because he prioritizes a trait most young founders haven’t developed yet: wisdom. Chan believes that wisdom is typically found in “older founders or people who have a couple of scars under their belt.”