Just say no to college.
Author | Bruschini, Michael |
Position | Soundbite - Paul Gu - Interview |
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Paul Gu is the winner of a Thiel Fellowship--a two-year $100,000 grant designed to encourage teenagers to skip college and pursue scientific or entrepreneurial projects in the real world. He is also the founder of Upstart, a human capital contract firm that allows investors to fund an individual's education in exchange for a share of their future earnings. Gu spoke with reason intern Michael Bruschini in August about his experience with the Thiel fellowship, his start-up, and the future of higher education.
Q: You came here from China at six without any knowledge of English. How did you climb the ladder to attend Yale and become a Thiel Fellow?
A: I developed a streak for independent thinking early on and generally preferred to try beating the system instead of doing what I was told. I loved my time at Yale, but after two years, it was obvious to me that I was more of a self-learner and was getting impatient to get in the "real world." So when I saw the Thiel opportunity come along, it was a no-brainer for me.
Q: Why did you decide to start Upstart?
A: With a bit of a quant-finance/economics background, I was naturally curious about problems with risk management. After some thinking, I realized that [financial] asset class diversification was overlooking the single largest financial risk anyone faces--their own career!
Q: What kind of impact do you think Upstart could have on the student loan system and alternative education financing?
A: One big concern with the student loan industry is that it is future-income agnostic. The extreme example is the person who takes out $200,000 in loans and majors in a subject not in high demand by the job market. From a purely economic perspective, you probably have many people who are paying too much and not getting enough out of their educations. Income sharing contracts could completely change the...
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