Is hiring obsolete?

An old post at 106miles asks this question here. An abstract by Paul Graham states the following:

Most CS undergrads hope to get a good job when they graduate. But as the age of startup founders creeps downward, I foresee an alternative path for the most ambitious: instead of going to work for Microsoft, start a startup and make Microsoft buy it to get you.

Regardless whether graduating engineers do a startup right out of school, they would be well advised to treat their employment history as a process of building a portfolio (to use Charles Handy's term) that highlights exemplary work product and marketable skills. In today's changeful workplace, a strong portfolio can lead to traditional, startup, and freelance opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable.