After I tweeted out a link to yesterday’s post, I had this twitter exchange:
@dHandlos i don’t know the exact number but i would not be surprised if half of the entrepreneurs we have backed don’t have college degrees
— Fred Wilson (@fredwilson) December 22, 2014
I took some time today to look through our portfolio and estimate the percentage.
I believe 21 founders out of a total of 72 that we have backed in the history of USV did not graduate from college. That’s about 30%.
However, I believe 17 founders have advanced degrees, including a few PhDs. So roughly a quarter of the founders we’ve backed have invested heavily in their higher education.
There are no specific credentials required to get funded by USV or most other VC firms. You need to be credible as an entrepreneur. That means being able to see, recruit, make, and sell. If you can do that, and if you can prove you can do that to investors, you’ve got a great shot at getting funded.
