Dropping out of college might not seem like the greatest advice if your goal is to be wildly successful in business and become a billionaire. And that's because, for the most part, it is terrible advice if those (or many other things) are among your life goals. But while that might not be the most stellar advice in the world and certainly isn't a "one size fits all" kind of plan, there have been plenty of entrepreneurs that have succeeded by pursuing their goals at the expense of college, including Elizabeth Holmes, the youngest female billionaire. She dropped out of Stanford University at the age of 19 back in 2003, and since then her healthcare company Theranos, of which she has half ownership and is CEO, has amassed a worth of $9 billion.
The technology that has put Theranos on the map is the nanotainer, a vial to collect micro blood samples, which is smaller than a dime. Holmes said she was motivated to create the technology by her own fear of needles, and the inaccessibility of potentially life-saving blood tests to people on a global sphere. The technology took nearly a decade for her to develop to its completion today, but now the nanotainer allows patients to draw blood with a mere prick of their finger, and receive conclusive results within four hours. The company has also started opening wellness centers for quick and convenient testing and hopes to spread them worldwide.
Seeing like Holmes break barriers in technology industries is the kind of positive inspiration we need to have girls and women to get more involved in roles that aren't "typically feminine," especially because society has missed the mark on that inspiration in the past. The idea that led Holmes to drop out of college and pursue an unconventional, decade-long path will have a global impact on healthcare, which just goes to show what is possible with a little faith and a ton of hard work. You can hear her explain the innovative technology at the Disrupt SF 2014 Conference here:
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