[jordhy]

This problem is fairly common. I've runned into many Math Olympiad winners whose accomplishments and technical drive are without par but hesitate to start companies even after having good ideas/plans. The problem with these people (and I should know because I was one of them) is that they're so smart that they rationalize why NOT to start a company. And being so smart they find many things that should go wrong and, in turn, they never start any entrepreneurial endeavor out of fear of failure.

I'll give you a couple of tips to try to make the next "Mini-Bill-Gates" out of this genius:

- Build his confidence by engaging in a basic business with him using a smaller idea (the people often have many).

- Persuade him that business is easier than academia and that he can learn to be a far better businessman than he is a scientist.

- Point to the failures on his industry and show him that even the entrepreneurial failures ended up making more money than the 9to5ers.

- Have him patent his idea(s) as a starting point. Then he'll gain momentum on his own after he has clarified his plans.

- Give him some books about entrepreneurship and just wait it over. Analytical people often learn more thru books than people.

- If you really believe in his idea, join him. Maybe he ends up being your Wozniak.