#20_under_20

http://www.thielfellowship.org

Elevator Pitch:

Thiel Fellowships pay young people $100,000 over two years to forgo college and to plunge into real-world projects.

Founder:

Peter Thiel

Key ideas:

The Thiel Fellowship (originally named "20 under 20") is a fellowship created by Peter Thiel through the Thiel Foundation.

Thiel Fellowships consist of separate grants of $100,000 to 20 people under 20 years old, so that they can leave the classroom and pursue other innovative work, which could involve scientific research, creating a startup, or working on a social movement.

In addition to the financial support, Thiel Fellows are mentored by hundreds of highly accomplished entrepreneurs, scientists, investors, thinkers, and innovators of the Thiel Network.

Worth watching/reading:

Forgoing College to Pursue Dreams (New York Times, 2012)

Thiel Fellowship (Wikipedia)

Apply to the Fellowship (video, Thiel Foundation)