Is Peter Thiel’s Pro-Dropout Fellowship Mostly an Advertisement for Himself?

A core flaw in the program, according to Chafkin’s reporting for “The Contrarian,” is the nearly complete lack of any supervision or training. The Thiel Fellowship is sometimes compared to early-stage venture accelerator Ycombinator, but Ycombinator is highly structured, including regular check-ins where participants report their progress. The Thiel Fellowship, at least for its first several years, had no such requirements. Access to Thiel himself was limited, and often perfunctory.