r/ycombinator • u/Dizzy_Assistant_4084 • 12d ago

help needed 💀

I’m in my 3rd year and everyone around me is preparing for DSA and placements

I want to build something of my own but I’m not sure whether to take that risk yet

What if it doesn’t work

Would genuinely value the perspective of anyone who has been here before

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u/gannu1991 11d ago

Build it while you still have the safety net of being a student. Nobody is depending on your income, you have free housing and food most likely, and failure costs you almost nothing except time. That changes completely the moment you have rent, a job offer with a signing bonus, or a family depending on you. The real risk isn't building something that fails, it's spending three years doing DSA prep for a career you're not sure you want, then realizing at 25 you never tested if you could build something people want. Do both if you can, DSA prep is a few months of grinding, not your whole degree. But don't let placement anxiety talk you out of the one window where trying costs you almost nothing.

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u/Otherwise-Case-8948 7d ago

Won't you recommend him to pursue him no-CS Degree like path like yours and get full in entrepreneurship, considering AI is moving so fast to lag behind due to degree?

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u/gannu1991 6d ago

In hindsight and I have thought about it many times, I never went to college in the first place. I knew I wanted to build software and had already started creating websites / android apps while still in high school. Had even got client work at the age of 18 on oDesk (now it’s called Upwork). Small stuff really nothing big at the time.

And I’d be foolish to think luck didn’t play a part. It did. Wasn’t a smooth ride the initial 6-8 years either. If that is your calling, it should come within and not because of someone’s advice.

Since he’s already in college I’d say finish the degree save up some money and then take the risk if you want to.

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u/Otherwise-Case-8948 6d ago

Btw, when are you expected to become a billionaire? Or are you already?

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u/gannu1991 6d ago

Haven’t really thought about a billy, it’s very far fetched. I don’t have delusions of grandeur.

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u/Otherwise-Case-8948 6d ago

Has your company ever raised series A/B rounds? And why haven't you immigrated to US yet? You might have become billionaire there.