First of all, if you have never worked in a restaurant in any capacity (chef, waiter, manager, host, whatever), I would say the chances of starting a successful

First of all, if you have never worked in a restaurant in any capacity (chef, waiter, manager, host, whatever), I would say the chances of starting a successful restaurant are much, much lower than someone with some experience. And it’s easy to understand why, as even a short one year stint in a well run restaurant is probably enough to pick up industry best practices (that are centuries in the making) and make a handful of connections. If you want to start a company which makes software, actually knowing about software is going to do wonders for your chances of success. As for your flipped question, “business” is not a background. Other than perhaps Math, English, and common sense, there is no knowledge that is so abstract that it can be usefully applied to any kind of business.