The Facebook Co-Founder Who Did NOT Quit College
By Anna Johnson on June 10th, 2009Business is full of stories of college dropouts who went on to found hugely successful corporations. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are prime examples, and so are two of the three founders of Facebook, Inc.
But what about the company founders who opted to stay in college? Was staying in college the right thing to do? Do these guys and gals have any regrets? And what about that Facebook founder who decided to finish his degree?
Apparently, Chris Hughes, the Facebook co-founder who stayed at Harvard when his two co-founders, Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz dropped out, does harbor some regrets.
Hughes and roommates Mark Zuckerberg and Dustin Moskovitz started what was originally called Thefacebook in February 2004. They spent the U.S. summer in Silicon Valley to work on their project. Then, when it came time to return to Harvard, Zuckerberg and Parker decided to abandon college to stay in California and work full time on the company. Hughes, meanwhile, went back to Harvard.
Hughes’ regrets may be somewhat warranted. After all, Facebook has been quite the success, and is worth some $10 billion based on a recent venture capital investment.
Not that Hughes hasn’t also achieved substantial success in his own right. After graduating in 2006 and spending some time working for Facebook, Hughes left to lead President Barack Obama’s extremely successful online presidential campaign strategy.
Chris Hughes has since joined venture capital firm General Catalyst Partners as an entrepreneur-in-residence. According to the Wall Street Times, he now spends his days visiting the top U.S. college campuses, speaking with students and checking out promising new companies.
I say to Chris Hughes: forget the regret. What makes our life’s journey so interesting and fulfilling is that it is OUR journey and no-one else’s.
And, hey… graduate of Harvard, co-founder of Facebook, led a successful online presidential campaign, entrepreneur-in-residence at leading VC firm… doesn’t look to bad on the CV does it?
Source: Scott Austin, “Facebook Co-Founder Chris Hughes Is Back On Campus,” Facebook, June 3, 2009
