How To Become A College Billionaire

Everyday another 20-something college student hits it big with a game changing tech startup launched directly from a dorm room. Just this week Mark Cuban stated that never before has it been easier and cheaper to launch a tech venture. If you aspire to attain big success today as opposed to mild success twenty years from now, you are living in the absolute ideal environment. 

You've come to witness entrepreneurship reaching its purest form. In 2012, amidst the second tech boom, any ambitious individual - regardless of age, experience, or connections - can build a successful company from the ground up faster than ever with next-to-nothing costs. For all you college students yearning for greatness: forget what your college and your parents tell you.

Now - yes, today, - is the time you can and should start chasing your dreams... the longer you wait, the less chance of success you have. Take action today and become another "accidental billionaire." If you want to go from the dorm room to the penthouse, here is how you embrace entrepreneurship to become a billionaire before the time you graduate college:

Vision

Great companies start with ideas. Just look at Apple. Steve Jobs didn't plan to build the corporation you see today. He envisioned a product that would disrupt an industry, and that started in college. The environment of college brings you a melting pot of different types of people, culture, ideologies, and industries. Observe what is around you. What is there a demand for? Moreover, what are you passionate about?

Equally as important: what are you good at or know a lot about? Chances are you already have a ton of unexplored concepts floating around in your head that - at one time or another you thought would be a phenomenal idea - but you lack the confidence to follow through with it. Take all these things into consideration to form the idea for a desired product or service that you can dedicate yourself to.

Explore

Again, a college campus brings you a little bit of everything in the world. Explore your product further. Determine if there is a market for it as every theory and concept must be tested.  What better way to do so than through the diverse masses that compose your school's student body?

Don't be afraid to scratch the whole thing and hit the drawing board again. Do not stick to one concrete idea that you stubbornly refuse to change. You need to be able to shift, change, and grow your idea as you learn more about the market you want to target.

Action

Singlehandedly, action is the most defining aspect of a successful venture or entrepreneur. Everyone desires success. Your friends probably talk about how their all going to "be a boss," but truthfully they won't. However, you will because you are going to do the one thing 99% of people don't: act on your goals. Do not fall into the deathtrap of talking or "planning" more than actually being proactive about it. Understanding procrastination is the cousin of death is imperative. Accept the fact that you (or your business idea) will never be ready enough.

Do not worry so much about perfection now. Like with anything you need to take things one step at a time. And in the world of entrepreneurship, the first step of actually acting on your idea TODAY is the most difficult and most defining. Have the courage to fight inertia, to oppose mediocrity, to overcome adversity and simply put: just do it. From there, dedicate yourself to your new venture 24/7. Make it your number one priority. It can not simply be something on the side.

Team

People often make building a team a lot more complicated than it should be. Remember the fact that who you surround yourself with has a profound impact on who you are and what you do. Your entourage can either crush or cultivate ambition and success. First, you must cut off anyone in your life who is holding you back in anyway. There are enough obstacles to success as it is... you do not need your personal life to be the thing is stopping you.

Whether it be "haters", doubters, negative people, leaches, or, most commonly: non-ambitious people, these individuals must be put to the side for sake of accomplishing your dreams in an unprecedented time frame. Surround yourself with positive, like-minded, ambitious people with serious goals. As a dorm room entrepreneur, those people will be your team. Embrace diversity and distinct talents. Look outside your current group of friends, step outside your comfort zone, and go to places you normally don't.

Maybe you need a developer. Maybe you need a guy with a knack for sales. Whatever the case, make sure they are driven and willing to dedicate themselves 24/7 to your venture. Make sure their end goal is success, but if their immediate goal is to get paid (by you, in exchange for their time or efforts) cut them loose. This is not the time to pocket change in the process, this is the team's chance to build a dream.

Resources

The best advantage a dorm room entrepreneur has is their immediate access to resources. Remember, today you can launch a tech venture for next to nothing. To be precise, just a couple hundred bucks will do the job... and that's over the course of a couple months.

So the, "I don't have money," excuse is null. So is the, "I don't have connections," excuse. The beauty of entrepreneurship is that it is a meritocracy: you are rewarded only for your accomplishments. And only the strongest survive... the best product and most sound groups win.

Utilize inert groups on campus, like the entrepreneur clubs, tech meet ups, etc. Some professors in business schools will have experience in Venture Capital or startups and use them to get feedback or to put you in contact with useful connections they have (once you get them confident in your business). Look for those who want to genuinely help and are not there merely to spin your wheels. Contact alumni who are in a relevant industry or may be investors themselves as they've most likely been in your shoes before.

Mindset

Most of all, realize that success doesn't come easy. You MUST dedicate your blood, sweat, and tears into your business if you want to get to the top faster than anybody else. Think and act in the true entrepreneurial spirit. There are countless individuals smarter and more talented than you in your college alone.

But, what will separate you from them is going out on a limb - taking a risk - devoting all your time and energy into proactively building something. Always be hungry, never get comfortable, and make progress with your venture everyday. If you do that, success is guaranteed. Welcome to the Dorm Room Billionaires Club.

Venture Clout | Elite.