Don’t Start a Business Right After Graduation Unless You’re a Prodigy

If you’re an individual with neither a strong network nor a powerful backing, my advice is to start as a boss first. Ideally, you should be able to open a company, take on employees, and keep it from going bankrupt for at least a stretch of time before you even think about investing. Not just jump straight into full-time investing after being a corporate executive for a few years without ever having run a business, expecting to support your family.

A second-stage person attempting third-stage work is riddled with holes. It doesn’t mean you’ll automatically do better in the first stage; if you can’t manage the second stage, thinking you’ll succeed in the third is highly unlikely. Extremely unlikely.

A company might take three years to become profitable. You can’t tell your employees, “I won’t pay you for the first two years—run on passion,” because that’s impossible; you simply wouldn’t be able to attract people. During those first two unprofitable years, you still need to pay your staff on time, or else they’ll never make it to year three.

This is why most people can only handle tasks that give immediate feedback—quick, positive feedback. It’s like studying: learn a step, test a step, reward a step, coaxing them forward bit by bit like feeding chickens.