Do you need corporate experience to build a great product in 2025?

Corporate life teaches you certain things:

• Discipline

• Arms you with skills

• Working under pressure

• Real world impact

• Hitting deadlines

• Managing multiple stakeholders

Some would call it a rite of passage, the training ground that prepares you for the chaos of building something from scratch.

Others say it’s outdated. That you can learn just as much (or more) by jumping straight into indie building or startups.

So…

Do you think corporate experience is essential, or is it just one path among many?