Bootstrapper.com - Confessions of Serial Entrepreneurs

So one of my favorite movies is Accepted about some kids that start their own college. Now, I saw that movie and i wanted to start my own. It turns out it isn’t that difficult to get provisional approval for accreditation. So this is my idea for a college…

Name: Entrepreneurs College
Goal: Learn by doing

Every student would pay a moderate tuition which would get them access to all course materials and a team of 5 advisors they can talk to. The goal is to learn by starting your own company either solo or in a team with other students. The curriculum would be super condensed lectures taught by real life business people about how theories work in practice. This way, we can cut 90% of the material out to focus only on what people really need to learn.

The lessons would be 5-15 minute long videos, with powerpoints and links to support them. There would be a discussion forum and a live chat session with the lecturer. The idea is we can cover an entire semester subject in a couple of hours of focused material.

The ultimate goal is for your board of advisors (mentors) to give you approval and say you’ve passed by showing you have what it takes (and either succeeded or learned something and failed).

Each subject would be sponsored by a company (though they would not be able to influence the lecturer). Additionally companies can offer contests to solve problems for them and pay cash to students so students can earn money for specific mini internship projects. Everyone wins.

In the end people get real world advice and information and get a degree by doing something productive.

I’m not actually doing this but it would be really friggin cool

War: Split iraq into 3 countries, make all oil revenue for the next 20 years go into a single fund, where no dollars are taken out and then each country only gets it if they don�t go to war with each other
- US should leave advisors to help build infrastructure
- US should pull out evenly over the next 12 months
- Leave under 10,000 people for embassy and advising and trainers
- US should train all 3 armies
- Pull out only happens that month if there are no attacks, if theres an attack they stay an extra month
- All contracts to US companies invalidated unless agreed to by all 3 goverments

Healthcare: insurance companies need to be forced to pay out more, easier appeal process, online for people if they feel they are not being approved, doctor makes decision of whether something is needed, not insurance company, universal purchasing of drugs like Canada and half universal healthcare for people with less than X income and its full coverage. Audit the dam companies, people can complain online, too many complaints and they can lose their license to be an insurance company

Crime: decriminalize weed & e, must have a license, if no license 3X penalties than today and prices will go down like crazy so drug dealing will be not worth it, harsher penalties for hard drugs if good behavior for non violent crimes for 3 years then they go to parole board, no more 3 strike rule or minimum sentences, harder penalties for gun possession

Guns: all guns needs to be licensed nationally, even if its an old gun, everything must be registered even rifle, registration is free for old guns for life of them, penalties for no license mandatory 1 year, automatic weapons no one gets, penalties harsh, hand guns that are new much harder to get, harsher penalties

Taxes: no tax if under poverty line, flat tax of 10% personal income, 10% corporate income, deductions: per family member, starting a new business, home ownership, green car +X to encourage something

Subsidies: All subsidies gone within 10 years, new industry grants available but not consistant subsidies

Govt Contracts: send people to jail for screwing the government, harsher audits

General Accounting / SEC: if a company is fined for sec violation, CEO & CFO & all board members also get cash penalties, if company cant pay penalties it coes out of their pockets, if companys restate for fraud, there are penalties on ceo/cfo/board

Campaign Finance
- no public money can be spent going to fundraisers
- no public security at fundraisers or transportation
- easier to get on the ballot / nationwide ballot for president
- mandatory X voting machines per X people nationwide or locales lose money
- open source voting systems
- if they don�t go to X% of votes, they lose matching funds
- all donations easier to find online, all owners of pacs easier to find, must be on the sites of the candidates

Federal Employment
- no such thing as tenure
- must have testing & performance reviews
- every department is accountable to goals and budgets

Immigration
- everyone in the country can become legal
- if clean for 3 years once they register, they can get drivers license
- all borders closed, new illegals subject to execution
- easier to get passports, all people in US can get passport that has a license, single ID for the country, if no passport in 6 weeks, get $500
- build real border with mexico, camera, sensor monitoring with electrified under fense

Economy / Social Security
- Social Security = replace foreign debt = we owe ourselves
- Social security
- Tax Breaks as cash back
- less admin costs
- private management � performance fees only and only if above market averages and only companies that can show they know what they are doing � let anyone start with 1 account for 3 years�they need to put 100MM of their own money in the strategy they would use, split up among a lot of firms
- raises taxes on young and raise retirement age

Civil Liberties / torture
- no torture
- all civil liberties
- must be democratic
- no such thing as enemy combatant or military tribunals
- when use terrorism its an excuse to do whatever and crosses the line, people are people

Iran
- let them sell oil, no nuclear
- don�t touch them, let them live as is
- no good solution

UN
- start a league of democracies
- everyone can obverse but if you want to be on the seious committees must be a democracy
- peace keeping force

Disaster Relif
- cash and incentives to buy new houses
- X$ + X$ towards new house or business
- Tax abatements for building or having a home there
- Fix the dam barriers

Education

- after school programs and food
- national schools
- everyone gets the same amount to spend
- teachers get assigned, then can apply after 5 years
- no tenure, reveiew every year
- same education rules for everyone