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
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!
20 years of experience ending in a C-Suite position when I decided to go on my own. I had years of data at what works and what does not. Years of experience and intuition in understanding the market and building something that could sustain. I invested every cent I had and made it work, I did not give myself the option to fail. A huge risk which paid off probably because experience taught me and I had a lot to lose.
I think for kids starting as early as 15 or 16, they have tons of data available out there. They have room to make mistakes, fail and get up back again, improvise when needed and learn along the way. It works in there favor, absence of crucial responsibilities or putting food on the table.
I started my first unofficial business when I was 8, and have been building businesses ever since. The latest, Pigeon Link, an anonymous super secure communications platform I started just a few days ago at the age of 64! Bottom line you can be any age and with whatever experience, the main emphasis is just do it!
Speaking to a lot of hesitant entrepreneurs at New York Tech Week last week, they fell into one of two traps:
1) lack of confidence in their idea
2) trying to massage their idea into perfection, before launching
In both cases, just get an MVP launched as quickly as possible and let the market help you determine if its a good idea and what direction it should take - your users will shock you, and you will probably need to pivot, but that's a good thing.
Remember: Users want you to succeed and it's better to have tried and failed, than to never have tried!