Why you should ditch that job offer and startup!

Well, you might choose not to take advice from me, but still, here's why I decided to take the leap, and you should too.

A bit of self-promotion first. I created my first start-up when I was in 2nd year of my engineering in 2011. I was passionate about making websites, and so was my room-mate. Thus was born Design From The Heart. Pretty soon, we grew tired of providing after-sales support and decided we won't do services anymore. Me and my room-mate started our second venture, CampusHash, in December 2012, and it has been our lovely baby since then. 10 months and two handsomely paying job offers later, I'm even more passionate about CampusHash now, and taking it full time with a couple of other ideas when I graduate in 2014.

For me, it all started long back with this. There's no reason why you shouldn't follow your heart. This single sentence has been my guiding force since then. And I can swear on my Ubuntu installation this is the true meaning of life, the universe, and everything. And not 42. Follow this, and all your decisions will become clear. At least that's what I've felt.

Now, why should you do the same? Why should you start up from college and not concentrate on getting that Super Dream Job from your college placements? Why should you even listen to me? Now, I am not at all trying to convince you not to take placements. I am just trying to tell you why you should really consider starting up right now if you have a knack for entrepreneurship.

1. Low risk, chance to fall back easily - This is got to be the biggest, most unfair advantage that you get over people who start-up later in life. If your start-up fails somehow, you always have the option to appear for the placements and get a decent job. Your experience will only help you landing any job, since you have had coded, designed, hustled, and pretty much done everything with your start-up. Now, companies would love that, wouldn't they? At least I would.
2. No financial pressure- While you are still studying, your family won't expect you to earn,   obviously. Compare this situation with when you have left your job   after working 2 years to start-up. This is a HUGE advantage.
3. Free office, super-cheap maintenance- You can start-off with practically zero investment. Tech start-up? Just need a laptop and an Internet connection. T-shirt start-up? Your room can double as your store room. Office? You can meet with your team-mates in the library and slog your hours off. Food? Mess. Internet? College LAN. What else would you ever need?
4. Your co-founder is your room-mate, and your entire team lives across your hostel lobby- Room-mates and best-friends make the best co-founders. At least that's what history suggests. And having a team that practically lives together is the best thing that could happen to a start-up after free unlimited internet connection. Plus, you won't need to pay anyone anything, since people would join you because they'd share your dream. Dreams are priceless.
5. You can under-promise and over-deliver- Being a 'kid' has its advantages. The bar is set low for you, and when you achieve, you get plenty of accolades. When you fail, however, you can always say you're still a novice and learning things. Easy peasy.
6. You are young- No offence to people over 25 who are reading this, but they can't match your energy. We are young, healthy, full of adrenaline. If we manage to channel our energy properly, we have a huge advantage over older people in the industry. And people say the kids are always smarter. Just sayin'.

All logical points said, you still shouldn't believe me. But you must listen to your what your heart says. I could quote Steve Jobs a million times in this article. You should really take out some time to discover what you really want to do. If you really want that job, go ahead. But if you want to do your own stuff even a little bit, go ahead and take the leap of faith. That's what I did. Because in the end, what really matters is what you have created.

Let's put a dent in the universe today. Let's start-up.

The author is a co-founder of CampusHash and a Python and JavaScript geek. You can follow him at @sanketsaurav or on Facebook.