While I wouldn&#x27;t call mine a success (yet), I&#x27;m a 2013 Thiel Fellow and founder of REX Computing, a recently venture funded fabless semiconductor startup. While venture funding is not a measure of success, I would say we are progressing technically very well. There have been a couple of exits (Streem was acquired by Box) and others that are still moving along, but no unicorns.<p>I think you also misunderstand Thiel&#x27;s motives for the fellowship... it is not saying that because Zuck was sucessful because he dropped out of college, Zuck was already lucky that he wasn&#x27;t in debt. The student debt crisis has been getting worse and worse over the past decade, and Thiel&#x27;s real core idea is that student debt is a huge barrier for young people to take risks (such as starting or joining a startup) during or after college.<p>For myself, I actually dropped out of high school to accept the fellowship. At that point I already had 3 years work experience at MIT, and was going to drop out of school anyways to accept a position at a large tech company in the Valley making three times the Fellowship&#x27;s yearly grant. What the Fellowship offered me was the chance to do something very risky and being able to get into the game quickly with an advantage. I think it was the right choice for me.