[mathattack]

For better or worse, degree is a signal in a noisy world. Someone who went to MIT is on average more likely to be useful to an investor than someone who isn't. And perhaps this is true even if they have an awful demo or product. If they have tech skills, the investor can find them work elsewhere.

But in reality, pitch nights are generally garbage anyway. Investors put a lot of weight on "Who introduced the entrepreneur to me" and that carries more elitism than MIT. Again this is to get through all the noise.

If you have a project with traction and a large addressable market, the investors will follow the signal and stop worrying about pedigree.

[codemac]

> For better or worse, degree is a signal in a noisy world.

I think the contention is that it's not actually a signal, we just believe it to be true, and it's a confirmation bias.

[mathattack]

Google recruiting would agree with you. They've de-emphasized school. :-)

My (limited) observation is it's one signal of many that is real, in a very noisy world. And 2-3 years post-graduation it's much weaker than other work related signals.