89: Dispelling the college degree illusion with Danielle Strachman & Michael Gibson of 1517 Fund

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five
Theses to a church door in Wittenberg to protest the sale
of indulgences. These were pieces of paper the
establishment church sold at great cost, telling people it
would save their souls. The church made a fortune doing it.
Likewise, universities today are selling a piece of paper
at great cost and telling people that buying it is the only
way they can save their souls. Universities call it a
diploma, and they’re making a fortune doing it. Call them
heretical if you like, but the 1517 Fund is dedicated to
dispelling that paper illusion. Extraordinary careers are
possible outside tracked institutions!


Danielle Strachman (General Partner,
1517 Fund) - In 2010, during the founding of the Thiel
Fellowship, Danielle joined to lead the design and
operations. She is the visionary behind the Thiel Summit
series that has been attended by some 2000 young
entrepreneurs. Previous to her work with Peter Thiel,
Danielle founded and directed Innovations Academy in San
Diego, a K-8 charter school serving 350 students, with a
focus on student- led project based learning and other
alternative programs.


Michael Gibson (General Partner, 1517
Fund) - Michael was vice president for grants at the
Thiel Foundation and a principal at Thiel Capital. For
nearly five years working for Peter Thiel, he has
contributed research to Peter’s global macro hedge fund,
assisted in teaching a course at Stanford Law School on
sovereignty and technological change, and helped run the
Thiel Fellowship. He serves on the board of the Seasteading
Institute. Before his academic apostasy, he was working
towards a doctorate in philosophy at the University of
Oxford. He has written on innovation and technology for
MIT’s Technology Review, the Atlantic, and Forbes.



I had an absolute blast chatting with Danielle and Michael.
These two are doing some amazing things for the future of
education and work. They've made 45 investments into
companies started by young founders and already those
companies are seeing some amazing results. This is definitely
worth a listen! 



Child labor is is good

What do you believe is true that the rest of the world
thinks is false?

Learning by doing

Credentialing and building a signal without a college
degree

Blockchain in education?

Just in time learning

Companies 1517 has funded

Advice for smart, driven college students

Resources

1517 Fund

Thiel Fellowship 

THANK YOU!




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