Kevin Fishner, B.A. 2012

2012 Major: Philosophy and Public Policy Studies

How has being a Philosophy graduate from Duke helped shape you personally and/or professionally?

"The Duke Philosophy program taught me how to think deeply and explain complex ideas simply. This has been invaluable in my entrepreneurship career. I started a company right after college, then joined a startup and worked there for two years, then joined HashiCorp as the second employee and worked there for eight years through an IPO. The company changed so much over those eight years and I held multiple different executive roles. Startups are chaotic and every day is different. Studying Philosophy taught me how to be comfortable with ambiguity, think in first principles, and make sound decisions through each of our company’s phase changes."

What advice would you give students in Duke's Philosophy programs? 

"Enjoy it. Studying philosophy will give you knowledge that you can use for the rest of your life. You can do anything with this degree. There are a lot of famous entrepreneurs and investors who are philosophers (Reid Hoffman, Sarah Tavel, Paul Graham, Chris Dixon, many more) because they know how to understand complex topics and identify patterns within them. That’s a useful skill in any field."