Jeff Bezos Urges Gen Z Entrepreneurs to Have This Crucial Attribute Before Launching Companies

Some of the biggest tech companies were founded by college dropouts. Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook from his dorm room at Harvard University, but later dropped out. Similarly, Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen after leaving Harvard midway through his studies.

However, Jeff Bezos, who is currently the fourth richest person in the world and the founder of the retail and AI giant Amazon, stated in an interview last autumn that Zuckerberg and Gates are the 'exception' to the idea that all major tech firms were founded by college dropouts and that college degrees are not important. Bezos has a net worth of $264 billion (£196.6 billion), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

While it is 'possible' to be 18 or 20 years old and drop out of college to launch a successful company, Bezos advised in an interview with Tech Week that young people should first gain work experience before taking the leap into entrepreneurship.

'Go work at a best-practices company somewhere where you can learn a lot of basic fundamental things [like] how to hire really well, how to interview, etc. There's a lot of stuff you would learn in a great company that will help you, and then there's still lots of time to start a company after you have absorbed it,' Bezos said.

He emphasised that working at a company rather than rushing into starting one significantly 'increases your odds' of success.

Bezos Founded Amazon at Age 30

Bezos launched Amazon when he was 30, after gaining approximately 10 years of work experience. In contrast, Gates and Zuckerberg were just 19 when they launched Microsoft and Facebook, respectively. Bezos believes that the 'extra 10 years of experience actually improved the odds' that Amazon would succeed.

He has both work experience and a solid educational background. This combination has greatly contributed to his strategic insights. Bezos graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in engineering. He was elected to honour societies Phi Beta Kappa and Tau Beta Pi and served as president of the Princeton chapter of the Students for the Exploration and Development of Space.

His academic background provided a strong foundation for his space exploration venture, Blue Origin, which he founded in September 2000. Bezos considers Blue Origin the 'most important work' he does and envisions the rocket company eventually surpassing Amazon in significance.

'That would always be my advice: I finished college, and I enjoyed college. I think it's been helpful to me,' he said during the interview.

However, the rising costs of higher education and the deteriorating job prospects for recent graduates have led many younger generations to question the true return on investment of a college degree.

Ford CEO Jim Farley recently stated during a company conference that going to college 'should be a debate.'

Mike Rowe, a vocational advocate, pointed out that 'nothing in the history of Western civilisation has gotten more expensive, more quickly,' adding that 'not energy, not food, not real estate, not even health care, [nothing has been inflated more] than the cost of a four-year degree.'