Thread by @lukesophinos

Peter Thiel gave me $100K to DROP OUT of college.

This is tied to the Thiel Fellowship, a program that has produced $250B+ in value, which is more than the GDP of 150 countries.

Here's why it's the greatest program on earth 🧵

A brief rundown of what the program is about:

The Fellowship gives $100k to young entrepreneurs (under 22) to quit college and start their own businesses.

The program was created by Peter Thiel, founder of PayPal and Palantir, and the first outside investor in Facebook.

Thiel thinks college is overrated and degrees are just for show, not actual learning or achievement.

Top colleges have become vocational schools for investment banking and management consulting.

In 2007, for example, half of Harvard seniors took jobs in finance or consulting.

Instead of wasting time in a classroom, Thiel believes young people should be creating new and innovative things.

What sets the Thiel Fellowship apart?

1. Lower acceptance rate than top universities

The Thiel Fellowship has an acceptance rate of just 0.01%. Every year, they select only 20 - 30 people for it.

So, for every 20 fellows who get selected ~199,980 get rejected.

The Thiel Fellowship is more selective than top universities like

• Harvard (4% acceptance)
• Stanford (4.3% acceptance)
• MIT (6.7% acceptance).

What does this show?

Thiel Fellowship attracts many of the world's brightest.

2. Generous funding

Thiel Fellows receive $100,000 to pursue their own projects for two years.

No strings attached.

You don't give equity or a percentage of your profits.

Nada.

This money is to help you survive two years while you passionately work on your "Eureka!" idea.

So, if you've got a killer idea that's been keeping you up at night, this could be your chance to turn it into reality without worrying about paying the bills.

3. Elite mentorship

Thiel Fellows get plugged into an amazing network of mentors and advisors.

We're talking about seasoned entrepreneurs and experienced investors.

In an environment like that, you're going to be raised to your peers level.

The alumni network is crazy as well.

You can tap into Vitalik Buterin from Ethereum or Dylan Field from Figma.

It's almost like accessing FRS (Fellows of the Royal Society).

4. Strong track record

The Fellowship has proven itself and its ideology.

Alumni have gone on to create ultra-successful companies and receive recognition in various fields.

For example 👇

• Ethereum ($200B) by @VitalikButerin
• Figma ($20B) by @zoink
• Oyo Rooms ($20B) by @riteshagar
• Polkadot ($7B) by Robert Habermeier
• Scale AI ($7.5B) by @alexandr_wang

Among many others...

5. Networking and Intros

You can go to dinners with other fellows once a month in SF or New York.

They're always amazing and you get to meet incredible people aiming to change the world.

The Thiel foundation can connect you with anyone in Silicon Valley.

If you're looking to raise funds and meet with someone at Khosla Ventures, they can help.

If you're looking to partner up with a company of Thiel Alumni, they can help.

This is a huge advantage in business.

Peter Thiel, the founder of the Thiel Fellowship, is a big deal in the tech world.

His ideas are controversial, but that just points to his ability to think for himself.

Here are 3 Thiel inspired principles:

1. Create a positive vision for the future.

Thiel believes in human agency and that individuals have the power to shape their future.

He believes it's our job to legitimize secret ideas for the betterment of society using business, research, and innovation.

2. Be careful who you copy.

Thiel encourages people to ask themselves:

“How do I become less competitive in order to become more successful?”

You won’t know what to do by looking at your peers, so don’t copy the people around you.

Copy people with whom you won't have to compete with.

For example, if you want to become a writer, copy traditional writers like Ernest Hemingway.

Hemingway is dead, you're not competing with him.

3. Think big and take risks

When I became a fellow, I told Peter that we had 5 schools and a goal to get to 20 by the end of the year.

He said, "What would it take to get to 20,000 by the end of the year?"

Wow.

That showed me that ambition should have no limit.

The Thiel Fellowship and Peter Thiel have had a big influence on me.

If you're contemplating if you should apply for the Fellowship, here's a short answer - DO IT.

You won't regret it.

I hope you've found this thread helpful.

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