Need help on deciding pathway to entrepreneurship ?

Some say that its better to do a startup earlier, like during uni days. Then some say its better to go out and work first before considering it. for example you need to understand the problem well before doing sth, and not blindly saying 'i wan to solve' without knowing it well. This was what i observed at slingshot pitch comp at sff2019(yay free pass).Many of these startup founders are seasoned professionals in their industry. So want to hear my opinions on these, be it founders or others etc.

Hi Nicholas, Adrian from NodeFlair here - we empower developers to code at where they love :)

TL;DR:

Experience helps but is not the deciding factor of success
Important to understand the problem and industry you are dealing in
Learning fast and good execution are really important
Personal sacrifices are needed (unfortunately)

Along my entrepreneurship journey, I've met successful founders from all backgrounds. Some are seasoned veterans in the field (folks from ShopBack), while some are much younger and comparatively less experienced such as Kenneth from Seedly (I've even met successful founders who started before university/NS)

It may then seem like experience is overrated. Well, not exactly true. Experience in the relevant industry is actually really useful in getting a headstart. Imagine being in the fintech space but not knowing all the regulations that you have to deal with, or being in E-commerce but aren't aware that Indonesia is more mobile-first as compared to other regions. You will missed out on many great opportunities (or worst, get into trouble with the law)

So why are some young founders so successful even without relevant experiences (e.g. folks at NinjaVan)? The lack of experience can be made up by learning very quickly, either through rapid iterations and validations, to speaking to your users, to seeking advices from more experiences veterans in the field (think of it as a quick crashcourse)

Last of all, execution is also one of the key determining factor as to whether you will succeed. It's the reason why some companies strive and grow rapidly while their competitors struggle much, even when they started off at the same place with the same resources.

All in all, experience is important, but it isn't the deciding factor as to whether one will do well. However, if you would like to start young (say, in university), be prepared to make sacrifices. You will be unable to join your friends in their fun club activities. You must even be prepared to not do well for school simply because the commitment that one has to give to his/her startup in order to do well, is simply too much.

All the best in whatever path you choose to take! :)