Why High School & College Drop Out’s Usually End Up Becoming More Successful Entrepreneurs…
Posted on 29. Oct, 2009 by Sasha in Entrepreneurship
EDIT: 10 MONTHS LATERI certainly made a loaded statement by saying ‘marketing is overrated’ – it’s the center piece of everything.What I was trying to communicate was what Seth Godin talks about in his book, Purple Cow. Make a REMARKABLE product or service – then the marketing get’s taken care of easily as it’s BUILT-IN to the product itself!http://www.ted.com/talks/seth_godin_on_sliced_bread.html
High school & college drop out’s usually end up becoming more successful entrepreneurs because they understand that:
MARKETING IS OVERRATED.
After you wipe off the coffee you just spat all over your screen, hear me out because this may very well be the most important post you’ll ever read as an aspiring entrepreneur…
For anyone that doesn’t already know, I’m currently in my second year of Marketing at Monash University. Back in high school, I was passionate as ever about entrepreneurship and believed going to uni to learn about business was stupid because business is simple – AND I WAS RIGHT.
I believed that the key to a successful business is to be innovative and create a kick ass product or service – then the marketing (branding, positioning, business growth, USP’s, etc) will take care of itself and you’ll have a thriving business – there’s no need to formally learn these aspects of business because they’re common sense.
Common sense corner : Don’t get me wrong, I’m NOT saying ‘never formally use marketing strategies’ – they are very important but stay with me here to see where I’m going with this…
For example, when Virgin Airlines was starting up it was the most informal, unplanned business ever – and now it’s one of the world’s most popular airlines. I don’t know the exact details, but basically the way it started was Richard Branson was waiting for a flight back home to London. After finding out his flight was delayed for many hours, he checked out the price of a private jet that could take him home NOW. After doing a few basic calculations, he realized if he split the cost of hiring this private jet with a few other stranded passengers who’s flight to London also got delayed, he would actually break even and this private jet wouldn’t cost him anything. His idea interested more passengers then he planned and he ended up making a profit for organizing this flight.
Now did Richard Branson spend months making a business plan, narrowing down his USP, deciding on an optimal positioning and branding strategy, etc? NO. He simply wrote ‘VIRGIN AIRLINES’ in big letters of a piece of paper and told people about his private jet sharing idea. He came up with the ‘Virgin’ name from leveraging his existing music business. When he decided upon the ‘Virgin’ name it wasn’t as a result of months and months planning the optimal branding strategy, he simply wanted a name to offend oldies and stand out.
It’s only as Virgin became massive that Richard hired actual departments solely focused on branding the Virgin name.
The point of this story is: If you have a good idea, just go with it and trust that if you put in the work, it will work out. All the little details and optimizations can be done later, but to begin with just get started! A good quote that summarizes this quite nicely is: “If somethings worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly”.
Common sense corner: Am I saying create crap products or services? NO. I’m saying just strive for excellence rather than perfection so you can get your idea onto the market ASAP.
To your success,
Sasha.
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James Jackson
29. Oct, 2009
Great post mate. I think another reason that people that leave school early are better entrepreneurs is because they aren’t yet conditioned to think in certain ways.
We are conditioned to be subservient and “worker bees, but those that leave early don’t develop this conditioning so they can better think outside the square and think of alternative ways to approach a market or product.
Great work mate.
James
ps. never read this stuff before bed or you definitely wont sleep =P
Sasha
30. Oct, 2009
Spot on James. I guess the key is if you’re already a student or an employee, try to become aware of how you’ve been conditioned to think like an employee. Once you become aware of these things, you’ll have the power to break free from them.
Georgie
30. Oct, 2009
Great article Sasha. I am a huge fan of Branson and understand where you are coming from. . Bransons first profitable project was the creation of ‘Student’ magazine. He understood that schools are run like businesses and as such, he found a niche. When the magazine finally took off, then Branson left school. Ultimately Branson was an entrepreneur at school. Branson was making money from quite a young age and as such, this has allowed him to invest in his own ideas.
I have met many top end execs and managers who will only invest in a project if hard work has been implemented. What I am getting at is that some investors are sick of young adults who think they don’t need to put in the effort to become successful.
I think that whilst an entrepreneur can think outside the square regardless of education, they need to understand the working environment to be able to apply their ideas effectively.
Wow. Very into this discussion. Ha.
But seriously great article!
Thanks! Georgie
Sasha
30. Oct, 2009
Another Branson fan sweet maybe you’ll go to Necker Island one day and meet him face to face
I was at White Charlie last night and met Kayne Pettifer (he’s an ex Richmond player so being a mad Richmond fan it was pretty sweet) – so I can only imagine what meeting Richard Branson would be like… Although at the end of the day we’re all people and we’re 99.999% the same – but it’d be pretty cool regardless!
So from the top end execs and managers you’ve talked to, what type of effort from young adults are they looking for before they invest in a project?
Dale
30. Oct, 2009
Sasha…
Great article my man.. You did a very good job of summing up exactly how Branson started Virgin Airlines.. What a Classic!! I think both Georgie & yourself have very important points!
I think that going to university is great, because it allows you to check out what everyone else in the world is doing.. You learn the traditional education, so that you can do the complete opposite.. It’s like investing – When everyone’s getting out, you should be getting in..
When everyone’s following one system of marketing, you should be doing the opposite and catching people’s attention!! (ie. Breaking world records in a Hot Air Balloon with your brand name all over it) – Now that is Smart..
I have always struggled through University because I have an entreprenuerial mindset and whilst I model entrepreneurs like Branson, Buffett, Gates & Trump, traditional university lecturers and tutors (most of, not all) would always consider my answers wrong..
I told them that I’m in the business of getting results and modeling the best not about following a strategy that’s assumed to be “right”, according to them.. And they aren’t on the cover of Forbes magazine are they?
Long story short, I think its the best of both worlds.. Because if you think about it, Most of the successful ones still went to university.. They just dropped out.. My conclusions are they saw what traditional education had to offer the masses and decided to be bold and follow the small un-conventional ideas that would later make them Billionaires..
Sasha
30. Oct, 2009
awesome insights Dale!
Georgie
30. Oct, 2009
Great insight Dale. Feel quite the same at uni!!
It would be a dream to meet Branson! One day i’ll get there for sure!! I think investors and the entrepreneurs that I have met along the way, are looking for young people who are committed to their ideas. They do not, necessarily need to have the education, but they need to be willing to work hard to get their ideas up and running. Its all well and good to leave school with the intention of becoming an entrepreneur, but unless you’re willing to dedicate all your spare time to your ideas and research, the older generation may be a bit hesitant to invest.
Student magazine almost failed-but Branson didn’t give up and spent every last penny on marketing it. Thats a sign of commitment and dedication. He was passionate about every project he created. Many of his projects were risky and at the start he didn’t get any help from banks. Ultimately if you’re not committed to finishing school- then you need to make sure you can show that you’re committed in other areas. No one wants to invest in someone who may ‘give up.’
Loving the discussion. Thanks!
Georgie
Will
02. Nov, 2009
Hey Sash,
Really great article. Did you know Richard Branson bought his first house at the age of 20,
Nice huh!
Sasha
03. Nov, 2009
hahaha yeah that’s real nice Will!!
Jock
17. Nov, 2009
@dale
dale if you are looking to start a personal training business I suggest you have a look at these blogs
http://kickbacklife.com
http://ptpower.com
@ Sasha
You are right mate, marketing is so over rated. There is a pretty simple formula. Find out what people want and then give it too them.
As a marketer you are there to serve. So be of service.
@ Georgie
Meeting branson should not be a dream. If you really want to meet him. Find out how to get in contact with him, find out where hes speaking. There is no limit to your creativity. Do not ‘accept’ that it is impossible because it isn’t. Nothing is impossible. So go and cut out the word out of the dictionary or have a look at it this way.
(Im-possible) (You are possible)
Just like
(dis-ease) ( You are not a ease)
Keep up the good work.
Jock
Brad Gosse
23. Dec, 2009
Great article and perspective.
” strive for excellence rather than perfection so you can get your idea onto the market ASAP”
Sounds like the software industry
Revise the products and charge users for major upgrades. It builds good relationships with customers.
Think about this.
Most musicians cringe to listen to their first few songs
Many photographers criticize their older work
Part of the growth process means todays products may look bad in a few years because you have grown, that’s okay.
FYI I am no Richard Branson but I have done okay for myself with a 10th grade education.
Sasha
23. Dec, 2009
Awesome insights into the growth process Brad – this is going to help a lot of people realize the importance of ‘JUST DO IT’ because it’s simply one of the steps they MUST go through to reach mastery in their business.
I too cringe at what I was doing a year ago, but looking back if I hadn’t done those things I wouldn’t be where I am now.
Alena
02. Jan, 2010
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Alena
http://smallbusinessgrant.info
Sasha
03. Jan, 2010
CONGRATULATIONS Alena! That’s officially the first comment for 2010
Tony
08. Apr, 2010
This is utter nonsense. Richard Branson was simply a financier to another entrepreneurs idea, using money earned from Virgin Records to finance the start up costs. Check the wikipedia article.
Sasha
08. Apr, 2010
haha are you freaking serious Tony?
I’m actually listening to his audio book ‘Losing My Virginity’ and I can tell you now, Richard Branson did a LOT more than just ‘finance the start up costs’.
He had to kick off some of the original team members because he wanted to do things the Virgin way.
eg. The first partner he parted ways with was a guy who wouldn’t settle on the name ‘Virgin Atlantic’ because he said ‘No one will ever fly on a plane named VIRGIN!!’….
Sasha
02. Aug, 2010
10 MONTHS AFTER I ORIGINALLY POSTED THIS:
I certainly made a loaded statement by saying ‘marketing is overrated’ – it’s the center piece of everything.
What I was trying to communicate was what Seth Godin talks about in his book, Purple Cow. Make a REMARKABLE product or service – then the marketing get’s taken care of easily as it’s BUILT-IN to the product itself!
http://www.ted.com/talks/seth_godin_on_sliced_bread.html
Monte Mette
03. Dec, 2010
nice post , thank you for your efforts.
Sasha
26. Jul, 2011
My good friend Jack Delosa just got interviewed on TV about the relevance of uni for entrepreneurs.
Check it out at http://au.tv.yahoo.com/sunrise/video/-/watch/26040818/who-needs-uni/