No. 14: Permissionless apprenticeship, deciding about college, fintech for Gen Z
You don't need to ask for permission in today's world. Gatekeepers are illusions, and there's always another way.
First, some numbers:
7 in 10 - college seniors are graduating with debt 1
12 - books worth reading from Read Like an Artist book club (via Austin Kleon)
70 million - About 1 in 5 people in the United States have learning disabilities 2
Apprenticeships? Don’t ask for permission
Asking for permission started in grade school - raising hands to ask questions, going to the bathroom, being excused from class. Is it any wonder we continue to ask for permission as adults?
Yet everywhere the Internet has laid the groundwork to create your own opportunities without any permission necessary.
Jack Butcher of Visualize Value makes his case in his online course The Permissionless Apprentice to show you the steps and examples of creating your own apprenticeship. And this course comes at the apprenticeship-friendly price of $1.
From the course:
Things you don’t need: Permission, Certification, Six-figure tuition
Things you do need: Patience, Practice, Skill, Consistency
Young or old, there’s value here for every student!
Check out Jack Butcher’s Permissionless Apprentice
Should you go to college?
via David Perell
Well, maybe. I don’t know if you should go to college, but I strongly encourage you to take time off before you enroll.
Use your time to start an online business. Live at home, spend as little money as possible, and find a side job if you need to.
How do you start?
Build your skills, identify a problem, and find a software-based solution. If you don’t know where to start, pick one of the following skills: writing, speaking, coding, or design. Then, start selling what you build. To find a business opportunity, ask yourself the following questions:
What sucks?
What would make my life easier?
What’s the most annoying thing in my life?
If you’re stuck, master a no-code tool like Zapier, AirTable, or Webflow. I don’t know what you should work on, but I promise there are thousands of opportunities in the world right now waiting for you to pounce on them. Find them by talking to business owners or better yet, solving one of your own problems.
Read the complete post at perell.com
Fintech for Gen Z and Millennials
A16Z podcast
Millennials and Gen Z have been hard-hit by the one-two punch of the 2008 and 2020 financial crises. That experience has radically shaped their approach to finances and their mindset around credit and debt.
Historically, students have largely been overlooked by traditional banks. Due to a combination of economic forces, predatory lending practices, and uninformed decisions, millennials have more outstanding student loans—and owe more money—than any prior generation. According to a poll released this week by the data intelligence company Morning Consult, just 46 percent of millennials believe their student debt was worth attending college.
Amira Yahyaoui wants to change that. She’s the founder and CEO of Mos, a platform that allows students to apply for every government college financial aid program with a single application. In this episode, Amira joins host Lauren Murrow and a16z fintech partners Anish Acharya and Seema Amble to discuss how fintech can cut through bureaucracy, downsize student debt, and optimize—and ultimately automate—consumers’ financial futures from an early age.
Show Notes
The student debt problem and how technology can help [1:29]
Why millennials and Gen Z have different expectations around finance [6:43], how traditional banks have responded [11:18], and how fintech apps are targeting students [13:10]
Apps that help students learn financial responsibility, as well as a discussion of alternatives to traditional four-year college degrees [17:56]
What fintech founders should consider when designing products for Gen Z [23:38]
What banking may look like in the future [25:15]
Read the show transcript at Future.com
Till next time:
One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple. – Jack Kerouac