Many young professionals are increasingly kicking off their careers as young entrepreneurs or gravitating toward the option after a few unfulfilled years in the workforce. To those big dreamers, the options seem limitless. After all, it is increasingly possible to hatch a start up with just a few essential resources and under a grand, if done strategically.
H&R Block believes that overnight wealth at a young age can be attributed to a simple formula and has represented this recipe in an infographic, entitled “The New Generation of Tech Millionaires Under 30,” based on the success of nine tech entrepreneurs under the age of 30.
Not surprisingly, Mark Zuckerberg, 27, tops the list with an estimated personal net worth of $17.5 billion, followed by Groupon Founder Andrew Mason ($1.3 billion) and Firefox founder Blake Ross ($150 million).
Apparently, all it takes is:
An idea
A computer
The Internet
Time
Youth (Born after 1985 to succeed by 30)
Noticeably absent from this equation is a university degree. It reveals that many of the basic skills of becoming a tech success, like design and coding, are often self-taught and likely the result of hours of teenage free time, experimentation and online interaction. Out of the nine inspirational individuals, four are university grads, three are dropouts and two never went. The age at which they started their business ranges from 11-16.
We are not sure how this information makes us feel about ourselves, but it was definitely inspirational, informative and got us thinking. Surely, these individuals had something a little more than the key ingredients outlined by H&R Block, right? We know countless numbers of computer-savvy YPs who have attempted to go where no tech start-up has before – armed with an idea, computer, the Internet, time and youth – and have not achieved the same success. What are your thoughts?