When Should I become an Entrepreneur?

I got a great question by email a few days ago.  The email was from a college student who has been offered a job with a consulting startup but a friend is lobbying him to start their own company.  His question: "Is it better to roll the dice as early as possible, or go out and get some industry experience first?"

To paraphrase Justice Potter Stewart (who famously opined forty years ago on the subject of obscenity): I can't define it, but I know it when I see it.

In other words, there's no right or wrong answer as to when to become an entrepreneur.  But here are some questions to ask yourself.

• Are you in a position to work brutally long hours, devote tremendous enthusiasm, and risk virtually everything you have (financially and personally)?  While I think it is an exaggeration to say you can lose your shirt in a startup, you can lose just about everything else.  Startups are hard financially and personally.  You pour all your time and money into something that may or may not ever be successful.  A lot of people may not understand that, but to entrepreneurs, it makes perfect sense.
• Do you and your partners have a great idea that solves a real problem?  Don't start a company with a really cool idea unless you understand how it will be used in the real world.  There's lots of gee whiz products out there, but to be successful you need to create a product or service that leaves people wanting to come back for more.
• Do you understand the problem you're solving and how you're solving it?  Nothing will kill a startup faster than a group of founders that don't understand what they're doing.  Now that's not to say you need all the answers.  Being a first-time entrepreneur is a serious learning experience and anyone who thinks they're truly prepared for it is kidding themselves.  There are so many new challenges you will face that you can't help but learn on the job every day.  But you still need to truly understand the problem you're solving and how your technology works.  Otherwise you'll be wandering in the wilderness unable to make decisions about how to find your way home.
• Is the problem one you've experienced yourself so you can develop and sell from the heart?  You need to understand the problem you're solving and how you're doing it.  But it is even better to solve a problem you yourself has experienced.  It's very hard to jump right in and solve a problem for a pet owner or a musician if you can't stand animals and the only music you know is the stuff you sing in the shower.
• Do you have one or more partners willing to go in with you?  Especially as a first-time entrepreneur, you don't want to go it alone.  You need the support of someone else to tell you you're crazy.  Or to keep your spirits up when you think things are headed for failure. And to give you a second opinion and bounce ideas off of.  Plus, if you can't find anyone willing to be your partner, the idea may not be that good anyway.

The bottom line is there's no right answer as to when to start.  When you're younger and unattached, it is easier to take risks.  You have boundless energy and enthusiasm.  You have yet to be made cynical by life experiences.  You don't yet know enough to question risk-taking.

With more experience, of course, you have a better professional network to tap into.  You have seen how more companies run and what they do right and wrong.  You have broader domain experience in whatever industry you've been working in.  You probably have some money tucked away to use to help fund the startup.

There have been plenty of successful entrepreneurs with and without experience.  You need to decide for yourself when you're ready and when you have the right idea to execute.