CEO Gets Dragged For Sharing The 'Inspiring' Story Of Why He Didn't Go To College
A perfect reminder that inherent privilege is hardly inspirational.
TMGZ2021, SeventyFour / CanvaPro Tons of people work hard every day. However, despite the hard work, dedication, and sacrifice, they’ll likely never come close to the wealth and success many privileged people achieve in their lifetimes.
Becoming the next generation of politicians, CEOs, or movie stars, the nepo babies and privileged often reap the benefits of everyone else’s work.
It’s exactly the narrative many took after reading a clueless CEO’s LinkedIn post, which told the “inspiring” story of why he chose to skip Harvard Law School for a “less taken” path.
A multi-millionaire tech CEO alluded to taking the ‘road less traveled’ in an ‘inspirational’ story about why he passed up Harvard Law.
Think of the world’s top politicians (even presidents), executives, and tech CEOs who dominate the top 1% of our country. A vast majority of them are nepo babies. Not only did they benefit financially and professionally from their family’s connections and wealth, but they’ve built their careers on the backs of other people’s influence.
While they’ve surely “worked hard” in some capacity in their jobs or professions, the average person in this country wouldn’t have a 1% chance at accumulating the kind of wealth in their lifetime that these people are just born into.
Of course, nobody chooses the life they’re born into—whether it’s a middle-American family of four or the founding family of the largest technology company in the world. We just play the cards we’re dealt. What’s aggravating is when nepo babies make a point to prove their struggle — trying to argue that they work just as hard, if not harder, than the average person.
A tech CEO’s post on LinkedIn, later circulated on the Reddit forum “LinkedInLunatics”, is being critiqued for exactly that reason. After making the choice to skip Harvard Law to inherit a family business — a path that he was reluctant to choose post-graduation — he argued it’s okay “to make a decision when you don’t know the whole future.” Not the inspiration I needed working my 9 to 5 on a Wednesday afternoon, but thanks!
Instead of going to law school, his dad’s CEO friend urged him to ‘hire an attorney.’ He did just that when he inherited his dad’s multi-million dollar business.
“My senior year of college. My father set up one-on-one lunches for me with 7 CEOs from his peer group,” he wrote. “It changed the trajectory of my life. My goal was to go to Harvard Law … but those lunches changed my approach.”
His original plan, to study law and then start working in business, was apparently “flawed” — as each CEO reminded him of his “talent” and warned him he’d make his life “miserable” pursuing a law degree at one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
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“One of the CEOs said to me, ‘You don’t need a law degree. Just hire an attorney.’...They were right! So I punted,” he enthusiastically adds. “I graduated without clear next steps.” When his dad offered him a job at his business “to figure it out” — he agreed.
“5 years later? I took over running the business at $5M. 15 years later? We’ve 10Xed to $50M, working to grow to $500M and be that big business that I always wanted to run.” He then went on to essentially make two points: 1. Always get insights from people “farther down the road” than you. 2. Never be afraid to make decisions without knowing exactly what’s coming next.
Discussions about nepotism often involve money and access, but many privileges run much deeper than that.
Without the fear of financial instability, the lack of professional connections, or the worldly and societal biases that hold so many brilliant people back, this young professional essentially slid right into a multi-million dollar business. Of course, it took work to build it up to what it’s become now, but he’d grown up with a business CEO father.
Not only did he have the wealth, security, and connections of his father, but he knew the lifestyle. He grew up with someone who managed a tech business, learning, growing, and feeling comfortable pursuing whatever he wanted. So, no. Not many people found it inspirational that he gave up Harvard Law for what’s now projected to be a $500M business.
“I built this company with my own two hands,” one commenter mocked, “Just me, that computer, and an eight million dollar loan from my father. And the company already existed and was profitable. And dad’s significant network of wealthy contacts. And a safety net, just in case.”
While many people begged this man’s post to be satire, it’s clear that other posts on his page echo a similar sentiment — strenuously inspirational, tone-deaf, and achingly ignorant.
You can be proud of your hard work, but please, don’t try to motivate people who’re just trying to survive with a salary that you spend in a day.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories.