SOME grandkids of the country's billionaires have opted to build tech startups in the Bay Area despite the attendant serial failures that go with such ambition (these young people, almost always, suffer from multiple failures before getting serious notice — and funding.) The decision is a break from tradition, which we often read from the business news: legacy corporations being infused with young blood, but from the same bloodlines as the original founders. These grandkids have chosen a different future — and that is to compete in the world's biggest and richest tech hub rather than assume managerial roles in family-controlled corporations back home.

First stop for these ambitious kids is quite familiar: the world-class technology and engineering schools that abound in California (Stanford, Caltech, UC Berkeley and many universities within the UC system. Even Cal Poly has a highly regarded tech and engineering program); then, a few years at the tech giants or the so-called tech unicorns that are still generous with stocks vesting; then, the launch of their own tech startups.