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Zuckerberg's Advice to 19-Year-Olds: Don't Commit Until It's Working

By Mark Zuckerberg · Mindset & Career · 1 min read

Pick something you care about. Work on it. But don't commit to turning it into a company until it's working. Zuckerberg didn't formally start Facebook as a company until Peter Thiel invested — 6 months in.

Key Points

Pick something you care about, but don't commit to a company until it's working
The very best companies were built by people who didn't decide upfront to start a company
Zuckerberg didn't drop out — he told Harvard he was taking one semester off. Then another. Then a year.

Don't actually commit to turning it into a company until it's working. A tremendous number of the best companies have been built that way.

Don't Commit Until It's Working

Zuckerberg: The most important thing entrepreneurs should do is pick something they care about, work on it, but don't actually commit to turning it into a company until it's working.

If you look at the data of the very best companies — a tremendous number of them have been built that way. Not from people who decided upfront they wanted to start a company. Because you just get locked into some local maximum a lot of the time.

Don't commit to a company until it's working. The best companies were built by people who didn't decide upfront.

Facebook Became a Company 6 Months In

Interviewer: How far into Facebook did it actually become a company?

Zuckerberg: It became a formal Delaware company when Peter Thiel invested, about 6 months in. When we were first talking to Peter, Dustin and I were very clear — we were planning on going back to school. Peter was just kind of like — all right, sure you are.

We told Peter Thiel we were going back to school. He was like — all right, sure you are.

One Semester Off. Then Another. Then a Year.

Zuckerberg: We didn't drop out immediately. We told Harvard we were taking one semester off. Then another semester off. Then a year off. After that, we kind of decided we weren't going back.

The amount of work was just growing so quickly. Peter probably knew we weren't going back — or believed he could talk us out of it. But he didn't have to.

We told Harvard one semester off. Then another. Then a year. Then we decided we weren't going back.