Have you founded a tech company?
Chances are, if you're a U.S. entrepreneur, you're about 39 years old and hold a bachelor's degree, and there's a good chance your company was started in the same state where you received your education, according to a study released Thursday by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and researchers from Duke and Harvard universities.
Based on a study of U.S. entrepreneurs who started their companies between 1995 and 2005, the findings show the median age of U.S.-born founders was 39 years old, with only 1 percent launching their company as teenagers. For those in their 50s, there's still hope--twice as many folks in this age group founded a tech company than those in their early 20s, according to the study.
The report also noted that 92 percent of U.S. entrepreneurs surveyed received a bachelor's degree, 31 percent a master's degree, and 10 percent a Ph.D. And then, you have folks like Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who dropped out of Harvard in his junior year and, nonetheless, built a tech empire.
"Because entrepreneurship is an indicator of economic vitality in regions and across the country, this study raises important policy questions about how to foster greater tech entrepreneurship to boost economic growth," Robert Litan, the Kauffman Foundation's research and policy vice president, said in a statement.
Graduates with an MBA degree founded tech companies within 13 years after getting their certificate, compared with folks with Ph.D.s, who generally waited 21 years to venture out as a tech entrepreneur. Maybe those with Ph.D.s wanted more time to research the notion of becoming an entrepreneur, before sticking their neck out.
The study also found that 45 percent of tech entrepreneurs started their venture in the same state where they received their education.
And here's a little bit of quick math to consider when selecting a university to get a higher-education degree: Start-ups in 2005 averaged sales revenue of $5.7 million and employed an average of 42 workers. Tech founders with advanced Ivy League degrees had companies that averaged sales of $6.7 million with 55 workers.
So, if you're going to attend college with the idea of starting a tech company later, consider an Ivy League school in a state where the cost of living is low because chances are good you'll remain in the area upon graduating, and employees often are the greatest expense to operations. That'll help with the profit margins, since going to an Ivy League school may mean your revenue will be higher.
A still intact Johnny Knoxville recoups.
(Credit: Naomi Nelson)The more dangerous--and pointless--the dare, the happier Johnny Knoxville is. Whether it's being gored by a bull or electrocuted by a taser, or starring in a remake of the Dukes of Hazzard, Knoxville is game.
Now the actor, comedian, and co-creator of the Jackass movies, known for wince-inducing stunts, will try his luck on the Web.
To promote the official launch of Jackassworld.com, the Internet site jointly run by Knoxville and MTV, the cable network is allowing Knoxville, Bam Margera, Steve-O, and the rest of the Jackass crew to take over programming for an entire day, starting Saturday.
The Web site, which will feature the same bet-you-wouldn't-do-this spectacles as the movies, is an example of how MTV is banking on dozens of Web sites that target a separate demographic group or fan base for each of its shows. The idea is to make it easier for people to find and interact with shows and their casts.
Knoxville, who suffered a groin injury while filming a tribute to the late Evel Knievel for the February 23 MTV show, spoke with CNET News.com on Thursday.
Tell us about your injury. How did it happen?
We were doing a tribute to Evel Knievel for our takeover (of MTV) this Saturday. During the filming, I decided I could back-flip a motorcycle. They had to let out the clutch for me. No one thought I could even make it to the ramp. I didn't the first time but I did it four other times.
The last time I hit the ramp and let go of the bike and it goes 15 to 20 feet above my head and comes down when I was laying spread eagle and it breaks the handle bar off between my legs.
It hit me right on the rim and tore my urethra. No long-term damage, though.
You going to be OK?
The prognosis is great. I'm a man again.
Why not just keep doing the movies? Why move to the Web?
On Jackassworld.com, it's like an R-rated film. You can show whatever you want and it's immediate. When you're filming a TV show it takes a couple of weeks to get to air, and a movie takes months to get to air. I can film a bit last night and it can be up today. That's pretty great because we're all hot to film again.
But is the Internet ready for you guys on a regular basis? Is Viacom (MTV's parent company) ready for you?
Viacom left us alone. They've been very supportive in all this. It's fun, man, having this outlet, you don't have to wait for months to have something come out. You can just shoot it and get it up and be on to something else...like productivity in the a**hole department is going to be up 73 percent, you know what I mean?
Were the iPhone designers North Carolina fans?
Network World is reporting that Duke University's Wi-Fi network is suffering from what appear to be rogue iPhones. Duke's Kevin Miller told Network World that the iPhone's Wi-Fi chips are flooding the university's Cisco access points with requests for MAC (Media Access Control) addresses. This is apparently knocking out dozens of access points as the 150 iPhones on campus wander around between different hotspots.
The Blue Devils are dealing with Wi-Fi problems, and they think the iPhone is to blame.
(Credit: Duke University)It seems a bit weird to me. No other reports of trouble with iPhones and Wi-Fi networks have surfaced, though of course it's very early in the iPhone's tenure on the planet and this may prompt others to come forward. Duke IT employees seem to think it's a problem with the iPhone, as opposed to a problem with Cisco's equipment or their network configuration. My colleague and resident networking expert Maggie Reardon contacted Cisco, but a company representative said Cisco couldn't comment at this time. An e-mail to Apple was not immediately returned.
We'll follow up on this one as we learn more about what might be causing the problems at Duke, still reeling from its first-round loss to Virginia Commonwealth in the NCAA tournament last spring. Perhaps its bitter rivals at the University of North Carolina are playing an MIT-style prank on the Dukies, but the university is genuinely worried about networking problems when students return to campus over the next month or so.
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