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If you know you want to start a startup, the best thing to do is to START - now. I think people in the software world are inherently biased since it's possible

If you know you want to start a startup, the best thing to do is to START - now. I think people in the software world are inherently biased since it's possible to start dazzlingly-profitable companies at age 19 ... in many other fields (e.g., medicine, chemistry, biology, physical engineering fields), it takes years of research experience to be able to make a breakthrough that can lead to a profitable disruptive technology. In those worlds, you rarely see 19-year-old entrepreneurs who have just started college.

timr 15y ago
"In those worlds, you rarely see 19-year-old entrepreneurs who have just started college." But let's not be confused: you rarely see 19-year-olds starting dazzlingly profitable companies in software, either. You just hear (a lot) more about the few that do. I don't think a PhD is the greatest idea if your only goal is to be an entrepreneur. But it's a lot better than trying to make a run at the goalposts without any contacts or industry experience. If nothing else, it gives you time to ripen into a mature adult, and learn how to deal with failure.