Dale Stephens Michael Ellsberg - TEDxSF - Debating Higher Education December 2, 2011

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Dale Stephens

Stephens brings a unique perspective on the future of education, talent and innovation. At the age of 19, Dale leads UnCollege, the social movement that is changing the notion that college is the only path to success. Through UnCollege, Dale's goal is to empower students to hack their own educations through resources, writing, workshops and community. Having come from a homeschooled background, Dale brings unique perspective and believes that everyone can live an UnCollege life by hacking their education.

In May 2011, Dale was selected out of hundreds of individuals around the world as one of the first members of the 20 Under 20 Thiel Fellowship. Started by Peter Thiel, the Fellowship recognizes the top entrepreneurs around the world under the age of twenty and provides them with $100,000 from the Thiel Foundation to pursue innovative scientific and technical projects, learn entrepreneurship, and begin to build the technology companies of tomorrow.

Dale has appeared on major news networks, including CNN, ABC, NPR, CBS, Fox and TechCrunch. His work has been covered by the New York Times, New York Magazine, Fast Company and Forbes. His first book, "Hacking Your Education" will be published by Perigee / Penguin in early 2013.

Michael Ellsberg

Michael's most recent book, "Self-Educated Millionaires: Lessons From the World's Most Successful People," is a bootstrapper's guide to investing in your own human capital at any age. In this, Michael interviewed some of the most successful people in the world -- who didn't complete college and who educated themselves in the real world -- to deconstruct their secrets and to create a "Syllabus for a Successful Life," based on what he learned from them.

The book features interviews with self-educated billionaires Phillip Ruffin and John Paul DeJoria, Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and founding president Sean Parker, WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg, fashion designer Marc Ecko, Pink Floyd lead guitarist David Gilmour, and marketing experts Eben Pagan, Frank Kern and Joe Polish. It also features the insights of experts including Seth Godin, "Rich Dad" Robert Kiyosaki, and PayPal co-founder and Facebook angel investor, billionaire Peter Thiel.

In addition to being a noted author, book editor and consultant to other authors, Michael has spoken at the Googleplex for the Authors@Google series, at the World Technology Summit & Awards, and also spoken at the Thiel Fellows Retreat. He writes a blog on entrepreneurialism, career development and education at Forbes.com.