How many years of experience did you have before starting your own business?
Some of the most notable examples of today’s wealthiest entrepreneurs started relatively later in life. (e.g. Jeff Bezos in his 30s)
But the speed of today’s world (driven by technology and information) is changing that.
We’re now seeing teenagers, sometimes as young as 15 – 16, building real businesses. In some cases, it almost feels “illegal” compared to traditional expectations. :D
A lot of students are choosing summer projects over internships, partly because trust in traditional employment feels less stable than before.
Frequent layoffs and rapid shifts in industries seem to have changed how people think about career security. TBH, I wouldn't trust a "regular job" either.
So their “experience” with business is often minimal, but they start anyway, learning as they go.
I’m curious:
Can you share your own journey?
When did you start building experience, and how long did it take before you felt ready enough to start your first business?
Replies
Co-Desk
I started building websites in 2000 at age of 12, and opened business 8 years later(August 2008), but it was different times…
Today from one side to create something is almost free and takes minutes, from another side the competition is crazy.
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@rafael_romano At least, you gained that experience in a good old-school way so your knowledge is well-deserved :)
Co-Desk
I'm 42 now, started at 41. Still employed full time, but the journey is real and the learning curve is steeeeeeeeeeeep! I'm more on the early side of building and starting a business is kind of like having a kid, I don't think you're ever really ready, you just have to keep going. Little by little becomes a lot and not one entrepreneur hasn't made a mistake. Create your informal network and choose growth over comfort every day and great things will happen. Stay humble, stay hungry, and even if you are not successful, the investment in yourself is worth it.
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@wereframe Indeed! It feels like learning and doing things along the way :)
from my story:
About 4 years of full-time work before I seriously started something. But honestly, I'm not sure "years of experience" is the right metric to obsess over. A lot of what I needed to know, I only learned by actually doing it wrong, which no amount of prior experience fully prepares you for.
The kids starting at 16 have something most seasoned folks don't, which is zero baggage about how things are "supposed" to work. That's an asset until it isn't. I think the real threshold isn't experience, it's having enough reps at failing small to not be paralyzed when something bigger goes sideways.
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@nolan_vu Sometimes it is good to start at an early age, because you do not think about possible obstacles and are more likely to take risks. (AKA you do not have so much to lose; you do not have any responsibilities like kids, a mortgage, etc.)
@busmark_w_nika
100% agree. The less you have to lose, the easier it is to just go for it without overthinking every move. I've noticed that the best decisions I made early on were the ones where I didn't even realize how risky they were at the time. Ignorance was genuinely an advantage. The tricky part is keeping that same energy later when the stakes feel higher, even when logically you know a failed project won't actually ruin your life.
I have not started one but I think, it depends on many factors including person's background, person's education, his/her mindset.
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@ankursonidev And especially how ambitious and free they want to be :)
I started the boring way: 10+ years writing software, mostly building things that had to work under real users, real money, and real production pressure.
But honestly, I don’t think I ever reached a magical “ready” point. I just got tired of seeing the same gap from both sides: as an engineer building financial/trading products, and as a user in Brazil trying to access better markets from a mobile-first reality.
That’s what pushed me to start HyperTradeWorx.
The funny part is: experience helps you avoid some dumb mistakes, but it also makes you aware of 500 risks younger founders would simply ignore and ship through.
So for me, starting a business wasn’t “I’m ready now.”
It was more: “I’ve seen this problem enough times that I can’t unsee it anymore.”
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@flavio_riper Will you launch it here? Or already launched? :)
@busmark_w_nika Bezos at 30. Teenagers at 15. Me, a delivery driver at 63.
Ya Fattah opens doors at 15, at 30, at 63. Age is the excuse, not the condition.
The speed has changed, yes. But the rule hasn't: You start with what you have, not with what you lack.
Teenagers have the code. I have the dua. Both open doors.
Trust in traditional employment? Me neither. My trust is in Ya Razzaq: The Provider.
"Experience" = 1 failure + 1 Bismillah. Repeat.
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@olivier_jury I wish to start sooner tho :)
I've been in business for myself basically since I was 18; I'm 57 now. I've had multiple businesses over the years: roofing, construction, masonry, chimney repair, and restoration. Thanks to the rise of AI, new opportunities have emerged from my years as a business owner, and the mistakes I've made have sparked my imagination to change the way we do business. What was once gatekept is no longer; the playing field is level between all players.
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@bret_munsen Hat off! Especially physical businesses are not easy to run and I have a huge respect towards people who have that skills!
Zero business experience. I'm a Tesla engineer who decided to start selling digital products on the side. No prior entrepreneurship, no mentors, just figured it out as I went. Neal's story is real though, the learning curve never flattens, you just get better at leaning into it.
minimalist phone: reduce your screentime
@antwon_randolph2 The best teacher is life itself. You will figure out the things along the way :)
I started my first business being a
student in the second semester in a university. And continued from there, just adding more business experience and new companies since then. I also had a bit of hired experience in between, but it never felt natural.
I started at 25 in 2010, having 5 years of experience. I was pioneering social media marketing in Ukraine at that time. No one had experience in how to do it, so I had to learn by doing, applying some business practices to this new domain. Sometimes you just dive in and learn how to swim with no preparation. Either you succeed or gain valuable experience for the next run.