Popular culture loves the mythology of the self-made success, the boot-strapping individual who eschews formal education to blaze a path to success. But, while superstar dropouts can capture our imaginations – think Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg – they are the exceptions, not the rule. Especially in Canada: a study by the Institute for Competitiveness and Prosperity, for example, found that nearly 90 per cent of the founders of Canada’s top 250 tech companies are university graduates.