15 Successful Entrepreneurs who didn't need college

[$5 submissions]

http://www.college-startup.com/colle...-need-college/

[BoyAlley]

College is for the uneducated.

[noone1]

"Of course, just because these people made it does not of course mean that most people can do without a college degree. If you?ve got an entrepreneurial spirit, the degree is just a backup."

Bingo.

[Validus]

Not sure if the Neteller founders went to college, well one went to law school... but they made a good junk of cash with a "simple" setup.

[EZRhino]

Most of those names on the list didnt know that their business was going to be a great success. Only a handfull actually had a vision.

[Pipecrew]

25 million entrepreneurs who did need college!

two sides to every coin.

[EZRhino]

College is for the uneducated.

After that post yesterday, I thought you might have a different opion about that. Since most people learn and embrace tolerance in college if they havent been brain washed yet by their parents.

[georgeyw]

College is for the uneducated.

Just like Gaydom = Idiocy?

[fallenmuffin]

College has always been overrated. You're born with it. Honestly.

[V_RocKs]

How many times were you told to make sure you worked hard in high school so you could go to college and get a good career job? Okay, maybe not all of you got nagged about it, but probably a good portion of today’s generation of adults did.

It’s natural to wonder whether college is really necessary. A college degree, as many have found, is no guarantee of a good career. On the flipside, there are many successful entrepreneurs who didn’t need their college education and become millionaires anyway. Here are fifteen of them, both contemporary and from the past, in alphabetical order.

* Mary Kay Ash. The founder of Mary Kay Inc. started a cosmetics business. While she didn’t have a college education or any training, she successfully created a brand known throughout the world. To date, nearly half a million women have started Mary Kay businesses, selling cosmetics. Their appreciation for Mary Kay Ash is unwavering.

* Richard Branson. Richard Branson is best known for his thrill seeking spirit and outrageous business tactics. He dropped out at the age of 16 and started his first successful business venture, Student Magazine. He is the owner of the Virgin brand and its 360 companies. His companies include Virgin Megastore and Virgin Atlantic Airway.

* Coco Chanel. An orphan for many years, Gabrielle Coco Chanel trained as a seamstress. Determined to invent herself, she threw out the ideas that the fashion world deemed feminine, boldly using fabric and styles normally reserved for men. A perfume bearing her name, Chanel No. 5 kept her name famous.

* Simon Cowell. Simon Cowell started in a mailroom for a music publishing company. He has since become an Artist and Repertoire (A&R) executive for Sony BMG in the UK, and a television producer and judge for major television talent contests including American Idol.

* Michael Dell. With $1,000, dedication and desire, Michael Dell dropped out of college at age 19 to start PC’s Limited, later named Dell, Inc. Dell became the most profitable PC manufacturer in the world. In 1996, The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation offered a $50 million grant to The University of Texas at Austin to be used for children’s health and education in the city.

* Barry Diller. Fox Broadcasting Company was started by a college dropout, Barry Diller. Diller is now chairman of Expedia, and CEO of of IAC/InterActiveCorp which includes Home Shopping Network and Ticketmaster.

* Walt Disney. Having dropped out of high school at 16, Walt Disney’s career and accomplishments are astounding. The most influential animator, Disney holds the record for the most awards and nominations. Disney’s imagination included cartoons and theme parks. The Walt Disney Company now has annual revenue of $30 billion.

* Debbi Fields. As a young, 20 year old housewife with no business experience, Debbi Fields started Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chippery. With a recipe for chocolate chip cookies, this young woman became the most successful cookie company owner. She later renamed, franchised, then sold Mrs. Field’s Cookies.

* Henry Ford. At 16, Henry Ford left home to apprentice as a machinist. He later started Ford Motor Company to manufacture automobiles. Ford’s first major success, the Model T, allowed Ford to open a large factory and later start the assembly line production, revolutionalizing the auto-making industry.

* Bill Gates. Ranked as the world’s richest person from 1995-2006, Bill Gates was a college drop out. He started the largest computer software company, Microsoft Corporation. Gates and his wife are philanthropists, starting The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with a focus on global health and learning.

* Milton Hershey. With only a fourth grade education, Milton Hershey started his own chocolate company. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate became the first nationally marketed chocolate. Hershey also focused on building a wonderful community for his workers, known as Hershey, Pennsylvania.

* Steve Jobs. After attending one semester of college, Steve Jobs worked for Atari before co-founding Apple Computers. Now without the “Computers” in their name, Apple includes innovative products such as the iPod, iTunes, and most recently the iPhone. Steve Jobs was also the CEO and co-founder of Pixar before it merged with Walt Disney.

* Rachael Ray. Despite having no formal training in culinary arts, Rachel Ray has made a name for herself in the food industry. With numerous shows on the Food Network, a talk show and cookbooks, high-energy Rachael doesn’t slow down. She has also appeared in magazines as well has having her own magazine debut in 2006. She knew she was a success when a website dedicated to bashing her was created.

* Ty Warner. Sole owner, CEO, and Chairman of Ty, Inc., Ty Warner is a savvy, yet private business man. Ty, Inc., made $700 million in a single year with the Beanie Babies craze without spending money on advertising! He has since expanded to include Ty Girlz dolls, directly competing with Bratz dolls.

* Frank Lloyd Wright. Having never attended high school, Frank Lloyd Wright surpassed all odds when he became the most influential architect of the twentieth century. Wright designed more than 1,100 projects with about half actually being built. His designs have inspired numerous architects to look at the beauty around them and add to it.

Of course, just because these people made it does not of course mean that most people can do without a college degree. If you’ve got an entrepreneurial spirit, the degree is just a backup.

For the record, I dropped out once I realized I was going to make less in my profession than I already did online.

[D]

most people learn and embrace tolerance in college if they havent been brain washed yet by their parents.

Q.F.T.

I lived what I considered a successful life without college... and I could have continued... but, 15 years after dropping out, I'm back in college, and I gotta say, higher education is a tool like any other - it can help you immensely - and in variable ways - if you realize how to use it.

And if you plan on working for others in any regard, a degree, at the very least, works as proof positive that you can start a long-term project (your education) and follow through with it.

[fatfoo]

For the record, I dropped out once I realized I was going to make less in my profession than I already did online.

shit, i recently started making $4,000 a month online, maybe i should drop out too,

but i am almost done my 3-year college program, lol

[The Demon]

Yes, please encourage this group of social miscreants by providing the exception rather than the rule.

[kovacs]

College is for the uneducated.

Idiot post of the month... Yay! Let's all just be overly loud homosexuals and rant on about our sexual hangups all day, fuck education!

[Rochard]

I love watching that one show where they talk to business people about their companies. But.... what they don't tell you is that for everyone that made it there is ten thousand who went into bankruptcy because they failed.

[The Demon]

Idiot post of the month... Yay! Let's all just be overly loud homosexuals and rant on about our sexual hangups all day, fuck education!

I couldn't agree more, but you'd expect nothing less than unintelligent liberal propaganda from people who surround themselves with porn 24/7...

[$5 submissions]

two sides to every coin.

True that :D

[Adultnet]

strong names

[pr0]

I love watching that one show where they talk to business people about their companies. But.... what they don't tell you is that for everyone that made it there is ten thousand who went into bankruptcy because they failed.

you can't succeed for the long term, without fucking up for the short term 1-2x

"Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage."
Niccolo Machiavelli

[PornMogul]

Add me to that list, ill be #16, I dont mind

[woj]

This is kinda like claiming that you can make 500% return a year in stocks, and to prove it you hand select those stocks that rose 500% in the past year...

Some people with no education are successful, but on average a college graduate will make WAY more than an un-educated person...

[clickhappy]

http://www.college-startup.com/colle...-need-college/

Great list. I think college for the most part is a big snobfest scam.

College is to get a job. An entrepreneur doesnt need college because he creates his own job. Its all about developing a skill and common sense, and never giving up.

How many college grads are out there working at starbucks or walking dogs after paying $100k+ for their degrees?

Did you see the Apprentice with the college grads vs. the high school grads? The high school grads had double or triple the net worth of the college grads, and did just as well on the challenges.

[$5 submissions]

This article and people's reaction to it just brings home the point: there's many definitions to the term "education." Ultimately, it is a personal choice and a question of commitment.

[beemk]

college is for people who want to get trained for a certain job to work for someone else.

[KILL_FRENZY]

good info

[scottybuzz]

college is for people who want to get trained for a certain job to work for someone else.

disagree, it could be about broadening ones mind

[pocketkangaroo]

college is for people who want to get trained for a certain job to work for someone else.

I disagree. College goes beyond education, it's an experience. Living out on your own for the first time, juggling social life with work, and interacting with people of all backgrounds.

And yes the majority of people there are being trained to work for someone else. But most of the world does work for someone else. We're in a rare industry that has a majority of people working for themselves. We also have very little startup costs. But if you're trying to open your own business and go to the bank/VC asking for a loan, they're going to value that degree in their decision.

[Th!nk]

nice find....thanks for sharing it.

[stillsexy]

low correlation between education and wealth

[yellowmenace]

at the end of the day, whether its via college or via streets, its what u do with that knowledge that determines success. there's plenty of successful people on both sides of the equation.

[tblake]

A lot of people on that list were in college but then dropped out when their side ventures started making lots of money. Bill Gates and Michael Dell specifically.

I think that counts as college education. They were in it for a while, then dropped out. Just because they didn't get a piece of paper doesn't meant that they didn't utilize the connections, friends and others that they met in college.

Bill Gates met his long time friend and now CEO Steve Balmer in the dorms in college. So did going to college help Bill Gates? Yes. He couldn't have gotten to where he is now without going to college.

[RevengeBucks_Monica]

I think Mr. Flynt can be added to the list.

Personally I think college has little to do with one's likelihood of achieving wealth or success.

[lucas131]

U dont need to be educated to make financial success.

[$5 submissions]

College is for the uneducated.

That's taking it to the extreme...

[Rui]

College is for the uneducated.

^^ clueless...

College is most of the time over-rated but saying something like that is so moronic it hurts...

[Rui]

And yes the majority of people there are being trained to work for someone else. But most of the world does work for someone else. We're in a rare industry that has a majority of people working for themselves. .

I find this very funny, we all know the self-employed webmasters (not even making that much compared to lots of people "working for somebody else") are all much wealthier than people that work from somebody...

Some of you guys must be living in dream world or something...

[D]

college is for people who want to get trained for a certain job to work for someone else.

Yeah, I'm gonna have to disagree with that, too.

College, for me, is more about broadening my mind... and I see the same for a number of people there. Philosophy, Astronomy, History, Biology... all subjects I've studied beyond the required amounts for my major... yet when are those subjects going to directly apply to my job?

You're thinking of vocational colleges, I think.... like ITT Tech, or what-have-you.... but even then, it could be argued that people are learning skillsets to work for themselves - not for others.

[Vick!]

25 million entrepreneurs who did need college!

two sides to every coin.

[The Demon]

College isn't necessarily synonymous with success, but statistically the majority of people who go to college make a shitload more than those who don't. Furthermore, the college experience is the best time of one's life. I challenge someone to give me a logical reason to forego 4 years of broadening your mind, meeting lots of people, etc. Most people that don't go to college are lazy uneducated buffoons who think they can all become the next bill gates, and then spend the rest of their life looking at, or working in, porn.

[GAMEFINEST]

some ppl are too smart for college

[sweetcuties]

That's all well and good... I don't care what people say, I love looking at my degree(s) on the wall... it's a sense of accomplishment. Plus, when you're out in social circles and everyone's got a degree (and you don't) think how you're gonna feel

[$5 submissions]

The Demon: You raise some good points. I particularly appreciate your mention of statistical averages. That's true. On a purely statistical level, the gap between earning potential of college grads and non-college grads as a group is widening and has been widening since the 60s. While college doesn't GUARANTEE success (and vice-versea), there's some statistical advantage to investing in a degree.

[$5 submissions]

The Demon: You raise some good points. I particularly appreciate your mention of statistical averages. That's true. On a purely statistical level, the gap between earning potential of college grads and non-college grads as a group is widening and has been widening since the 60s. While college doesn't GUARANTEE success (and vice-versea), there's some statistical advantage to investing in a degree.

[JuiceMonkey]

I agree, using the statistic that people who go to college make more money than people who don't isn't a fair comparison. Because it is fairly safe to assume that the majority of college students are wanting to work and be successful. You cannot assume that for the majority of people who don't go to college.

[Drake]

Those are exceptions (for whatever reason - innate talents, opportunies, or combo). Like somebody else pointed out, even some on that list of 15 people actually did attend college but quit after their business was taking off.

[The Demon]

I agree with "Sweetcuties". College is the time of your life. Anyone who says they are too smart for college is pretty much ignorant, unintelligent, lazy, and unmotivated.

[Violetta]

Nice... But wonder how many successful entrepreneurs that DID go to college!?