tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890204.post8343846332951116218..comments2024-03-10T05:26:42.148-04:00Comments on My Biased Coin: More Entrepreneurial Harvard?Michael Mitzenmacherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06738274256402616703noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890204.post-40292973222201951012012-05-30T21:18:05.070-04:002012-05-30T21:18:05.070-04:00At this point, startup salaries can often competit...At this point, startup salaries can often competitive with "big company" salaries, at least for entry-level "new college grad" hires. Having a healthy paycheck every month helps to mitigate the feeling of risk, and really the feeling of sacrifice, that goes into working at a small startup instead of a bigger company.<br /><br />Also, right now, the climate is such that it seems that if the worst happens and your company goes bust, your hard skills will still be valuable and you will be able to be re-hired by another company that is staffing up.<br /><br />So, I guess the long and short of it is: the funding climate is great right now, there are a lot of startups, and this year's crop of fresh grads has never experienced a downturn in their professional lives (freshman year doesn't count).<br /><br />Finally, there are other arguments centering around how the tools have improved so that small teams really can accomplish great things (or, framed a different: too many people start startups that work on "features," when they could instead provide more value to society at big companies).<br /><br />But the biggest thing, I think, is just a matter of perception. I get the sense that 10 years ago, a cushy Microsoft job was expected of a smart Harvard grad. That couldn't be further from the truth now, for any company (Microsoft, Google, Facebook). If anything, the cool thing to do is to drop out and start your own company. So, perhaps the social network is indeed at fault.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890204.post-25374224028155768842012-05-29T13:47:35.185-04:002012-05-29T13:47:35.185-04:00the 2nd paragraph of the above comment was truly t...the 2nd paragraph of the above comment was truly touching.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890204.post-46621307993982737262012-05-29T13:14:46.408-04:002012-05-29T13:14:46.408-04:00Anon #3: I should have caveat'ed my "dow...Anon #3: I should have caveat'ed my "downside" by saying it's not clear that sending fewer students to grad school is really a downside; indeed, it may be better for many students in the long run, as you point out. (I meant to put that in, but somehow forgot, so thank you for bringing it back up.) <br /><br />Still, as an academic, it tugs at your heart sometimes to see potentially great research minds go off on another direction -- even though you know they'll undoubtedly be greatly successful in whatever else it is they choose to do.Michael Mitzenmacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02161161032642563814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890204.post-33246317651114756602012-05-29T13:07:43.631-04:002012-05-29T13:07:43.631-04:00"We've been sending noticeably fewer of o..."We've been sending noticeably fewer of our best and brightest to grad school, as they're seeking other opportunities." <br /><br />This seems like a plus to me. The computer science grad school pipeline overfilled and burst a long time ago.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890204.post-32011494548050775232012-05-29T13:03:25.608-04:002012-05-29T13:03:25.608-04:00Undoubtedly that's one more piece of the puzzl...Undoubtedly that's one more piece of the puzzle (though I'm not clear how many students knew of the rule). But certainly at a higher level Harvard has become much more open to and in fact encouraging of student entrepreneurship in the last 10-15 years, in many visible ways.Michael Mitzenmacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02161161032642563814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8890204.post-83306770291187028932012-05-29T12:42:47.011-04:002012-05-29T12:42:47.011-04:00Michael,
Could it be relevant that until the year ...Michael,<br />Could it be relevant that until the year 2000 <a href="http://harry-lewis.blogspot.com/2012/05/my-real-contribution-to-birth-of.html" rel="nofollow">it was an actionable offense to start a business in your Harvard room</a>, in the freshman dorms or the Houses? Whether this actually stopped anyone from doing so, the fact that the rule existed surely signaled what Harvard thought of student entrepreneurship.Harry Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17088418333536732728noreply@blogger.com