Ph.D. vs Startup skillset
russell: A PhD is a great backup if you eventually want to go back into the mainstream.  I find it fascinating that hugely successful companies were founded by dropouts:  Microsoft, Apple (I think), and GoogleCaustic Graphics was founded by my son, a Berkeley dropout and two of his buddies, one of whom never went to college.  The product is coming out this month.My cynical advice is to accept the Stanford offer.  Instant cred in the VC community.  Spend a year working on your startup and making contacts, then drop out.  Guaranteed success. :-)