I disagree that "college students are irrationally risk averse".
College students are just students whose parents care that they get a nice career out of college. The brand name and perception of companies therefore dictates where most of them go. When asked, "so what did you end up doing after college?" most college kids, at least subconsciously, want to be able to say "I am working for great company X" and have the listener know what they are talking about.
That listener is typically their family.
Thus if you want more college kids to join startups, you should make it attractive to their families to do so. You'll still have the brand problem, but maybe the word "startup" will be like the word "wall street" ;-)
College students are just students whose parents care that they get a nice career out of college. The brand name and perception of companies therefore dictates where most of them go. When asked, "so what did you end up doing after college?" most college kids, at least subconsciously, want to be able to say "I am working for great company X" and have the listener know what they are talking about.
That listener is typically their family.
Thus if you want more college kids to join startups, you should make it attractive to their families to do so. You'll still have the brand problem, but maybe the word "startup" will be like the word "wall street" ;-)