Ph.D. vs Startup skillset
jfarmer: There are a few ways a PhD can help:1. If your PhD research is directly applicable to a product you think is worth building.  See, e.g., Google.2. If you need to hire other PhDs or people with advanced degrees.  Having a PhD gives you street cred which helps you build a team.Beyond that starting a company is about talking to customers, prototyping ideas and products, and building a team.  Along the way you might also have to convince other people to give you money to keep you going towards your ultimate, billion-dollar goal.