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Build a company from scratch. High-risk, high-reward. Y Combinator, IIM incubator, bootstrap routes.
Founders build companies. Day 1 to ~1000 employees involves selling, building, hiring, fundraising, customer support, operations — all of it personally early on.
2 viable paths.
Domain expertise + idea + co-founder → MVP
No formal entry — most start while employed OR after a degree.
Y Combinator / accelerators
Bessemer, Sequoia Surge, Antler, YC India — formal acceleration.
Wide bands — real salary depends on city, employer, performance. Pick the midpoint for planning.
Most founders are unpaid for the first year+; pay-yourself comes after PMF + Series A
Most startups don't exit; expected value is bimodal
Founder → Co-founder + Team → Series A → Series B+ → IPO / Acquisition / Continued growth
Pros
Cons
Cyclical. Funding winters reduce starting rate but increase quality. India startup ecosystem maturing.
Product Manager
Own product outcomes. Sit between users, engineering, design, business. Career-of-careers.
Management Consultant
Strategy advisory at McKinsey / BCG / Bain / Big-4. Premier career launch into senior roles.
Investment Banker / Equity Research
High-finance careers — M&A advisory, IPOs, equity research at investment banks.