Thiel Fellowship
http://www.thielfellowship.org
Elevator Pitch:
Thiel Fellowships pay young people $100,000 over two years to forgo college and to plunge into real-world projects.
Founder:
Peter Thiel
Key ideas:
The Thiel Fellowship (originally named "20 under 20") is a fellowship created by Peter Thiel through the Thiel Foundation.
Thiel Fellowships consist of separate grants of $100,000 to 20 people under 20 years old, so that they can leave the classroom and pursue other innovative work, which could involve scientific research, creating a startup, or working on a social movement.
In addition to the financial support, Thiel Fellows are mentored by hundreds of highly accomplished entrepreneurs, scientists, investors, thinkers, and innovators of the Thiel Network.
Worth watching/reading:
Forgoing College to Pursue Dreams (New York Times, 2012)
Thiel Fellowship (Wikipedia)
Apply to the Fellowship (video, Thiel Foundation)
The World in 2050... according to the 2011 Thiel Fellows (video, Thiel Foundation)