As the Founder and CEO of Venture for America, Andrew Yang places top college graduates in start-ups for two years in emerging U.S. cities to generate job growth and train the next generation of entrepreneurs. He knows firsthand how our current view of education is broken. Many college graduates aspire to finance, consulting, law school, grad school, or medical school out of a vague desire for additional status and progress rather than from a genuine passion or fit.
In Smart People Should Build Things, this self-described “recovering lawyer” and entrepreneur weaves together a compelling narrative of success stories (including his own), offering observations about the flow of talent in the United States and explanations of why current trends are leading to economic distress and cultural decline. He also presents recommendations for both policy makers and job seekers to make entrepreneurship more realistic and achievable.
Andrew Yang is a writer and reality TV enthusiast living in New York City. He studied computer science at the University of Chicago and has a day job as a coder. Andrew is a devoted fan of the writer Elena Ferrante, whose Neapolitan Novels are his favorite book series. He enjoys studying languages, rooting for his favorite sports teams, and trying new recipes with his air fryer. He is the author of I'm Not Here to Make Friends and The Ping-Pong Queen of Chinatown.