Leaving University/College is not a decision to be taken lightly, especially if one is near the end of a course and has accumulated substantial debt. Even if you have great personal belief in your start-up it would be unwise to quit without some initial traction. What would be the key trigger in your decision? For anyone who did decide to drop-out, at what stage in your growth did you decide to take the plunge?
1. I'd try everything in my power to avoid taking on any debt, much less "significant debt." Go to a State school, go to a school near home so you can stay with mom & dad, work a part-time job during school, etc. Actually, I did all of these things, and did manage to avoid taking on a large amount of debt ($3k was all I ever borrowed).
2. Given (1) above, I'd drop out of school at the drop of a hat... in practical terms, that probably would mean "if I could find one other person crazy enough to work on the startup with me" then I'd drop out and do the startup. If we could hack nights and weekends for a while, get a prototype out and demonstrate some traction first, so much the better.
3. If (big IF) funding were available (outside investors, a paying customer, etc.) then it would be a no-brainer to me to quit and do the startup.
Looking back, I did drop out, just not for a "startup" per se, and I've never really regretted it. The only reason I'd go back and finish my degree at this point is just so I could say I did it (I actually do prefer to finish things I start).
I just personally made this decision and here is what I think:
Quitting school is a hard decision. And I am only leaving knowing that I have the safety net of being able to go back to school in the case that things work out.
Having that safety net makes me feel a lot more comfortable. And with that net, I was able to make the choice when I realized that other people who were not biased and had no reason to comfort me believed in my idea and my team; here, those people were an accelerator. Had I not been accepted into the accelerator, I probably would have left upon completion of an MVP, seeing that I had unbiased users.
To summarize, I personally left when I felt that I could confirm with an unbiased source that I wasn't bluffing myself, that the product I'm developing can succeed and has value.
1. I'd try everything in my power to avoid taking on any debt, much less "significant debt." Go to a State school, go to a school near home so you can stay with mom & dad, work a part-time job during school, etc. Actually, I did all of these things, and did manage to avoid taking on a large amount of debt ($3k was all I ever borrowed).
2. Given (1) above, I'd drop out of school at the drop of a hat... in practical terms, that probably would mean "if I could find one other person crazy enough to work on the startup with me" then I'd drop out and do the startup. If we could hack nights and weekends for a while, get a prototype out and demonstrate some traction first, so much the better.
3. If (big IF) funding were available (outside investors, a paying customer, etc.) then it would be a no-brainer to me to quit and do the startup.
Looking back, I did drop out, just not for a "startup" per se, and I've never really regretted it. The only reason I'd go back and finish my degree at this point is just so I could say I did it (I actually do prefer to finish things I start).