Why should you startup in college?

Throughout college, I’ve had this discussion multiple times with seniors and juniors, “Should you startup in college?” or “When is the best time to startup?” and we could never conclude the discussion. Here’s my attempt to answer these questions.

Short Answer: “Yes, you should. You are Antifragile!”

Startups and businesses are inherently fragile systems. That’s why 90% of startups fail within the first 5 years. You’ll be bombarded with new problems(stressors) every day and if you are fragile, you’ll eventually break. Being robust isn’t enough, as it is a highly competitive sport! If you don’t out-do your competitors, you are dead. So, the only option you are left with is to be anti-fragile.

Any complex system is antifragile if it gains from disorder or stressors or uncertainty. How do you ensure that the system is taking advantage out of chaos? There’s a trick to it:

If you cap your losses(have limited downside) and make sure that you have unlimited upside, the system becomes antifragile.

Let’s list down your upsides and downsides being a student entrepreneur:

Downside:

1. Opportunity cost: You’ll miss out on a dream internship or a research opportunity.
2. Poor grades: If you are serious about the company, your grades are going to get affected.
3. Personal life: This can be person-specific, but you’ll have to say no to a lot of parties, chilling sessions, hanging out with friends.

Upside:

Do I need to list the upside of your startup blowing up?

1. Insane growth
2. You get to work with amazingly talented folks
3. Great networking opportunities
4. If you make it big: unprecedented impact on the economy and startup ecosystem
5. Money(of course :p)

……

You can also look at this from a different lens. If you belong to a tier-1 college(BITS/IITS/Others), you can apply what is called, a barbell strategy.

What’s a barbell strategy?

It’s a bi-modal strategy where you are super-conservative (limiting downsides) and super-aggressive (unlimited upsides) at the same time.

In your case, if you are super-conservative, what’s the worst that can happen? How much is the startup stint going to hurt you if it doesn’t work out as planned? Being a student, you don’t have to worry about earning a living. Your parents are paying for your tuition fees. If you are from BITS, there’s this zero attendance policy and you don’t have to worry about classes as well!

If you are a smart chap from a tier-1 college, you won’t find too much trouble in getting a job either. Being super-aggressive is taking the risk of starting up.

The idea is, since this world is full of uncertainty and randomness, with a barbell strategy, there is a higher chance of you making it big. This is antifragility, taking advantage of randomness!

If you are a student and can build stuff, “Congratulations, you are Antifragile!”