Starting your startup while in college can give you a lot of experience and the chance to create a profitable startup. Additionally, you don’t have much liability, so you can invest your time in building a startup that can help you financially. Even if it doesn’t immediately generate significant profits, you will undoubtedly gain valuable experience.
Building something from scratch does require great dedication and passion. If you have considered starting a startup at your college, be sure you are willing to put in the necessary effort to see it through to completion.
We will talk about a few things in this blog that you should think about when starting a startup while still in college.
We will also see a college startup story and understand how they were able to turn it into a good business.
Finding Your Passion and Skills: It is important to select a business venture that plays to your strengths and areas of interest. Consider your passions and any skills that you may have that could be used to launch a successful startup.
Research and Validation: After you have finalized the area and the idea you want to work with, research in depth about the area, the field, and other upcoming startups in the same field. This will help you understand the space, make necessary changes to your idea, and avoid mistakes.
Utilising College Resources: You can also use your college resources, like any entrepreneur club or past alumni, and network with potential people who might help in the journey.
Time Management: It is a tiring journey if you are seriously building a brand in college itself, but also do not neglect the college academics and other opportunities that college might offer you. That is why time management and prioritizing your work are equally necessary.
Building a Support Network: Surround yourself with a supportive network of friends, family, mentors, and fellow entrepreneurs. Discuss advice, feedback, and collaboration from others.
Starting Small and Scaling Gradually: Start small and then increase the structure and scale of your startup, by which you will be able to understand your potential market and customers and eventually build a brand.
Financial Management: Managing finances while building a business in college is a crucial aspect. Keep track of the budget you are using, seek help, and minimize the cost when you are starting early.
Learning from Failure and Adaptation: Learn from the failure and any mistake that you make. Keep your senses open and try to figure out the aspects of how you can grow, who can help you in the journey, networking, and perhaps promoting your startup in the college itself.
Legal and Regulatory Considerations: Touch upon the basics of business legalities if there is anything related to a license, trademark, or copyright. Get the right help and understand the legal structure of the startup that you are building.
Lastly, do not measure your success by profit metrics. Even if it doesn’t make you good money, you were able to understand crucial things in the startup and were able to build something. This is a valuable experience that you have gained.
Here is the story of Reddit. An App that was started by two students at the University of Virginia.
Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian, students at the University of Virginia, originally wanted to make a sandwich-ordering app. But with advice from Paul Graham from Y Combinator, they decided to create Reddit instead. It’s like an online bulletin board where people share links and text, and others can vote on whether they like it or not. They sold Reddit to Condé Nast after 16 months, making them rich at a young age. Now, Reddit is one of the most popular sites in the US, with lots of people using it every month.
Here are some points from young people’s startup journeys of entrepreneurship.
Identify a Market Opportunity: Paul Graham, suggested another platform to be created which both the founders agreed to and they started Reddit.
Start Small: Always start small with the business, and understand what you want to build and your target audience.
Utilise Available Resources: Utilise your college network and other resources available to you.
Adapt and Expand the Product Line: Recognise the limitations of the product and diversify the product range.
Overcome Obstacles: Face any obstacle that comes your way.
Achieve Milestones: As Reddit is one of the most famous platforms, both the co-founders earned by selling Reddit.
Pivot When Necessary: As the business grew, they recognized the need to pivot.
Learn and Iterate: Throughout the journey learn from your experiences and iterate your business models. Make changes and adapt to market dynamics to stay relevant and competitive.
Happy Startup Journey! Keep learning!
