My University of Washington students often ask in spring quarter whether they should work for a large tech company; or start their own. There’s no single answer; every student has to factor multiple dimensions; and even if they decide to start a company it’s likely they’ll fail [and that’s ok].
My general advice when students ask about starting a company:
Be on-fire about a really hard problem. Obviously there are many [climate, democracy, global health…] especially during a pandemic; but it doesn’t have to be a macro domain to be a hard problem. It can be a daily life nuisance [for example finding a public restroom that’s clean, safe].
Build an MVP as quickly as possible, to validate it’s going to begin solving the really hard problem. This is the first test for founders - do they go lean and build with their own skills and resources? Or, do they try to raise capital first. Big red flag if it’s the latter.
Have a testable, measurable plan to go to market [GTM]. Know the customers you’re going to acquire before they sign up; and what it took along with multiplier effects. If you can’t measure your MVP to see if it’s getting traction in a real market - oh boy - it’s unlikely the traction can be scaled up to build a real business.
Have some gas ready to pour on the traction fire when it gets lit; whether it’s friends/family capital or a verbal commit from a seed stage investor. This is one of the first places an early stage company with real potential loses it.
Recruit advisors who’ve been there; who know how to operationalize an early stage company’s advantages for growth. This is also a good move to build the founding team for the same outcomes.