The Dropout Boom – A Founder’s Lifestyle Choice

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More young entrepreneurs are skipping the college track to dive straight into startups.

Cory Levy, who once interned at Founders Fund and Techstars while in high school, now runs Z Fellows, a one-week accelerator giving technical founders $10,000 — even if they’re still teenagers.

The phenomenon is expanding as rising tuition costs, frustration with universities, and platforms like YouTube make building companies more accessible.

“At a big group dinner of 15 or 20 people, we’ll look around, and no one has a college degree,” Levy says.

For venture capitalists like Hartz, this new generation is not just a curiosity — it’s a serious investment thesis.

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Leaving school to build startups is becoming a cultural trend among Gen Z entrepreneurs.

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Risk-taking at an early age often builds resilience — a vital trait for founders.