Why You Shouldn't Drop Out To Start Up

We all secretly think we can be Outliers. Not the kind of Outlier where 10,000 hours is required to master a skill, but the kind where people operate at the extreme edge of possibility.

Unfortunately that perspective can lead us to make decisions based on what worked for Outliers – like dropping out of college to start a company.

After all, Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard; look how he turned out. Mark Zuckerberg did too; it’s hard to argue leaving school was the wrong decision for him. Same for Michael Dell, and WhatsApp founder Jan Koum.

In fact, check out the most recent Forbes Billionare List: 63 of the 400 individuals listed dropped out of college.

That’s why, if you think you have a great startup idea, dropping out of college to pursue that idea can seem like the smart move – but it’s not. Stay in school. Finish your degree.

Why?

Time truly is on your side.

When you're in your late teens and early twenties, two or three years can seem like a lifetime. You’re eager and impatient and simply hate the thought of waiting; you have a burning desire to get out there and start doing things now.

In the grand scheme of things those two or three years won't matter. You have thirty or forty years ahead of you to build a company, build a career, build a life.

Your idea will, believe it or not, wait.

You don’t have to be first. Gates didn’t create the first operating system. Zuckerberg didn’t build the first social network. Dell didn’t build the first computer.

Being first is nice, but being best is what truly matters.

Success starts with an idea… but lasting success is built on execution. You can be second or third or fiftieth and still succeed.

And since no one ever builds anything worthwhile totally on his or her own…

You can build a great network.

If you plan to be an entrepreneur, staying in school is one of the best things you can do – it’s a safe, sheltered, and risk-free environment where you can meet future colleagues and co-founders.

Co-founders who met and became friends as classmates have launched some awesome startups. Though HubSpot [NYSE:HUBS] is not quite at "awesome level" yet, my co-founder and I met when we were classmates.

You can safely explore your passions.

Every successful entrepreneur has a burning desire – if not a full-on obsession – to turn an idea into a reality. They’re willing to work incredibly long hours, overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and keep pushing forward even when everyone around them says they’re crazy.

Why? They don’t just love the idea of success; they love the work.

But it’s hard to know you’ll love the work unless you actually do the work. College is a great place to explore your passions: write some code, or build a prototype, or sell a test product, or provide a freelance service… and figure out what you truly love to do.

Not only will that help you learn about business, that will also help you be able to someday build a company you love.

You will prove you can start and finish.

Failure is a fact of entrepreneurial life. Potential investors, partners, employees, etc know that. Many investors will take a chance on founders whose earlier startups have failed.

But still… finishing college proves that you can stay the course, can work through adversity, and can finish something you started.

Plus, if you drop out, you might spend the rest of your life wondering whether some people would respect you more had you finished your degree. Or you might wonder if your life would have taken a different course. Sure, if you stay it is possible you might someday regret "wasting" those one or two years… but that is much less likely.

I've talked to hundreds of entrepreneurs. I've never heard someone say: "You know, if only I had dropped out of school, things would have been so much better."

You might actually learn something useful.

Seriously. It has been known to happen.

I learned a bunch of things I didn't know I didn't know by going back to graduate school. I find that knowledge to be extremely useful as I've grown my company and helped others grow theirs.

So, my advice: Stay in school. Pay attention. Make some friends -- there's a decent chance some of them will be your co-founder someday.

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Dharmesh Shah is the founder/CTO of HubSpot, and co-author of the book "Inbound Marketing: Attract Engage and Delight Customers Online". If you want to make his day, check it out on Amazon or tweet him @dharmesh.

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