Should You Start A Startup? | Startup School

Introduction (00:00:00)

• Haje Jan Kamps discusses whether you should start a startup.
• He addresses those uncertain about founding a startup presently but considering it for the future.
• The talk covers identifying if you're suited for startup life and how to prepare for it.

How to decide whether to be a startup founder (00:00:48) & Resilience is the most important quality (00:02:42)

• There's no simple test to determine if one should be a founder.
• Success in academia or established work doesn't guarantee startup success.
• Startup founders face personal rejection and need resilience to push through.
• Confidence is not an accurate measure of a founder's resilience.
• Resilience is more important for startups than confidence or stereotypical founder traits.

Founder of Benchling (S12) (00:03:35)

• Sajith Wickramasekara, a benchling founder, grew into a strong CEO despite initial doubts.
• Benchling faced early fundraising and revenue challenges but eventually succeeded.
• This underscores the importance of resilience in a startup's journey.

Startup resilience - Initial motivation isn't important (00:05:11)

• The right motivation is not crucial for founder resilience.
• Initial reasons for starting a company can evolve over time.
• Enduring motivations include a genuine interest in the problem and the team.

As a curious founder ask "What do I have to lose"? (00:07:04)

• Consider the worst-case scenario and whether you can tolerate it before starting a startup.
• The decision to start differs for each individual based on what they may lose.
• Startups provide valuable learning experiences across various work types.

Startup experience can improve your career opportunities (00:09:10)

• Startup experiences are sought after by employers for demonstrating initiative.
• Former startup founders often lead projects or product divisions in other companies.
• Startup experience can lead to significant career advancements and opportunities.

Getting ready to start a startup in the future (00:10:50)

• To prepare for starting a company, focus on finding both an idea and a co-founder.
• Ideas tend to start vague and require conversations and iterations to develop.
• Engage with people you enjoy discussing ideas with, as these might become your co-founders.
• Seek out those you respect intellectually, either from academic settings or the workplace.
• Foster a habit of conversing about interesting ideas, technologies, frustrations, and daily products.
• In between these discussions, invest time in reading and researching appealing topics.
• If you lack people to converse with about ideas, consider changing environments to meet new, like-minded individuals.

Best environment is working at a startup (00:12:52)

• Being around potential co-founders is crucial, and working at a startup provides an ideal environment.
• Startups offer insight into operations and are filled with less risk-averse individuals than large corporations.
• If still in school, aim to work for a startup post-graduation; if currently at a major tech firm, consider joining a startup midway.
• Experiment by turning conversations into side projects to practice idea realization.
• Upon ideation, plan and attempt to create a basic version of the concept.
• Either learn programming skills to build a product or find a co-founder who can.
• Start small, with the goal of growing accustomed to launching ideas into tangible projects.

When to take the leap and start a company? (00:14:28)

• The decision to start a company doesn't always follow from side project success.
• Evaluate your side project based on passionate user feedback rather than just user numbers.
• A few genuinely enthusiastic users can be more valuable than many indifferent ones.
• Focus on the enjoyment and learning derived from the process of creating and launching ideas.
• If you feel more energized by side projects than by your job, it might be time to pursue your own venture.
• Working well with collaborators on side projects can be an indicator to start a company with them.
• The eagerness and compatibility of a great co-founder is a significant reason to leave a job and start a new venture.