Jeff Bezos, founder of the world’s largest online retailer Amazon has a message for Gen Z: think twice before dropping out of college to chase startup dreams.
Speaking at Italian Tech Week 2025, Bezos warned that while some college dropouts—like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg—became wildly successful, their stories are rare exceptions.
“It is possible to be 18, 19, 20 years old, drop out of college and be a great entrepreneur,” Bezos said. “But these people are the exception.”
Bezos, who earned an engineering degree from Princeton University in 1986, said completing college and gaining experience in established companies can significantly improve the odds of future success.
“I started Amazon when I was 30, not when I was 20, and that extra 10 years of experience actually improved the odds that Amazon would succeed,” he noted.
His advice to Gen Z: use the early career years to work at a “best practices company” and learn how successful businesses operate before taking entrepreneurial risks.
Bezos emphasized that his message isn’t anti-hustle—it’s about pacing. Joining a corporate giant after graduation, he said, should be viewed not as giving up on a dream but as essential training for future success.