
Ask HN: What do you think is the optimal educational path for a aspiring founder - jennoo
How would you describe the most ideal situation (university, mayor, extracurricular activities) for a aspiring founder? What are the DO&#x27;s and DONT&#x27;s for a student which pursues this type of career?<p>PS: I couldn&#x27;t fit the question mark.
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troydavis
There isn't one, so don't stress over it. Put the time you'd spend
overthinking educational paths into getting experience with key skills:

1\. Identifying and trying to solve problems, then seeing how well you
succeeded. Come up with something you want to exist and make it. It could be
as simple as designing and 3D printing an object, then taking it to a craft
fair to see whether people like it.

2\. Basic business operations. What's it like to explain a product to a
prospective customer? How about collecting money or delivering the thing you
sold? What's it feel like to have to price your thing? Ideally, start a
company while you’re in high school, even if it’s selling professional
services and you only get a few customers. All the better if you have time to
create a product or app or something.

With 1 and 2, by the time you start a full-time company, you've already
experienced most of the "rookie" emotions that any first-time business
operator has.

3\. Going against the typical path (based on your own analysis of a situation,
not merely to be different!), being an underdog, and/or intentionally
accepting uncertainty. A simple example might be joining a LGBT+ club at a
school where LGBT+ students and supporters aren't appreciated. Join debate
club or Toastmasters and advocate for unpopular positions. Get used to people
thinking you're doing the wrong thing (like, oh, starting a company instead of
taking a job, or creating a product that everyone thinks is a toy) and hearing
their reasoning. Get good at explaining your reasoning for and belief in
something.

1 and 2 can pretty easily happen together. 3 is probably different.

One education tip: if you go to college, try to either graduate without debt
(like by working a part-time job while attending in in-state public school),
or attend a top 10 school. Don't take $75k worth of loans to go to some random
private college; you'll end up with the same degree someone else has and a lot
less freedom to take risks.

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dylanhassinger
build an audience that you can later sell your product to

