FE News | Education to Entrepreneurship: The Hardest Part is Starting

Ed shares insights on transitioning from education to entrepreneurship, drawing from his experience founding and selling PushFar, and starting a new venture, uRoutine. It outlines four approaches to starting a business: gaining industry experience, sharing ideas, building prototypes, and systematically tackling business tasks.

Personal Background

Starting a business or “becoming an entrepreneur” is an aspiration that many people have, but it can be a daunting path to walk. Perhaps the most daunting part of the process is taking that first step. As I reflect on my own experiences, from leaving formal education to founding and eventually exiting a successful business, and now, starting another business, I realise that the act of starting is just as scary, perhaps scarier, the second time around. One of the first questions that comes to mind for those looking to build a business is “How do I start?”. So, in this article, I will be sharing my own experience, some thoughts and insights into how you can go from education to entrepreneurship.

At 17, I made the perhaps unconventional but increasingly common decision to leave school and skip college or university. I was eager to dive straight into the working world, with a keen interest in technology and marketing – largely self-taught. This learning curve was steep, but it set me up with a solid foundation to start my first business. Fast forward a few years and in 2018 I realised that there was a considerable gap in the market for those who, like I was at the time, were seeking mentorship. So, to try and fix this problem I co-founded PushFar. For the last seven years, my co-founder and I grew the business into a global platform, collaborating with organisations worldwide to facilitate effective mentoring programmes. In January 2025, I exited the business after a successful sale of the business 18 months earlier. And now, it feels like, in many respects, I am back to square one of the entrepreneurial journey, albeit with a lot of valuable experiences and a successful exit under my belt.

Dealing with Self-Doubt

Despite the success of PushFar, I find myself grappling with self-doubt as I embark upon my new venture, uRoutine. As I start to map out and build uRoutine – a platform designed to help individuals and organisations stay accountable to their routines and goals through social accountability and team support – I remind myself that self-doubt is part of the process. The key is not letting it impede action. I suspect it is a common misconception that past achievements protect one against uncertainty – certainly in the startup world. In reality, each new project brings its own set of unknowns, and the fear of failure can be as potent as ever. In many respects even more so. A feeling that you have to prove you can do it all over again, knowing how much hard work was involved the first time around, can be overwhelming. So, I try not to think about it too much. I think that the key to overcoming this is to focus on action. I could easily spend my days dwelling on potential pitfalls, but this would stunt or possibly even paralyse my progress. Instead, breaking down the process into manageable tasks can make the journey less daunting.

Overcoming Perfectionism

Another significant, self-made barrier to entry for entrepreneurs is the often-discussed quest for perfection. It can be easy to fall into the trap of waiting for the perfect idea or the perfect moment. I can safely say from experience that perfection is an illusion that can hinder progress. In seven years building a successful business we were nowhere near perfection. Embracing imperfection and viewing each step as a learning opportunity can propel you forward.

Getting Started: Four Key Approaches

As highlighted at the start of this article, for those reading this who are currently in school or who have recently graduated and are looking to transition from education to entrepreneurship, I think the hardest first step is to simply start. Now, when I talk about “just starting” I realise that there are, of course, several ways you could do this. If you’re not sure where to start though, perhaps one of the following “just start” approaches will give you some ideas and help you to kick-start your entrepreneurial journey.

1. Building Industry Experience

One question that is important to ask yourself early on is “do I have experience in the industry I will be selling into?”. Perhaps you already have it, through hobbies or interests that are aligned to your business idea. However, if you don’t, then I would recommend building relevant experience. How much experience you will need is hard to say. It could be that by networking and having discussions with experts in the field, that you can gain enough experience and insights to embark upon your first venture or business. On the other hand, it may be worth considering a job or internship in the industry. I know that, in co-founding my own company, the experience I built working for digital marketing agencies and large enterprises like Oracle proved vastly valuable.

2. Sharing Your Ideas

The second approach to getting started that I am a big advocate of is to start sharing your idea with others. So often I find entrepreneurs are afraid of telling people about their ideas for fear that they will be stolen. The number of times when this has happened are minute. People have watched The Social Network too many times, I suspect! When you start talking about your idea with potential customers or users, investors and friends, you will begin to get valuable feedback which can aide your ability to develop your business effectively.

3. Building a Prototype

The third approach to getting started, if you are looking to develop a product – be it physical or digital – is to simply start building it. If it’s a physical product then you can explore building a low-cost prototype (there are a number of agencies you can find online that can help here). If it is a digital product, such as a software solution or app, then there are an increasing number of no-code solutions, where you can drag-and-drop or build out-of-the-box. They may not look pretty, but if they function, then you can start to test them and how your target audiences interact with them.

4. Breaking Down Tasks

The final approach to getting started that I would recommend is to map out the tasks required of you in building your first business. Each day or week, work through new tasks – from designing a logo, to registering a website address and registering the business with Companies House. People often fear starting a business because there is just so much involved – there is and there’s no getting away from this. However, if you’re set on becoming an entrepreneur, then there’s no magical alternative to this. You simply have to carry out each task and, in time, you will look back on your progress and start to see the results of your hard work.

Conclusion

No matter which path you choose, the biggest obstacle remains the same: just starting. Fear of failure, self-doubt, and uncertainty are natural – trust me, I am experiencing them right now. The key is to take small, consistent steps forward. For students and aspiring entrepreneurs, the opportunities are endless. Whether it’s freelancing, e-commerce, content creation, or launching a tech startup, the important thing is to take that first step. Every successful entrepreneur started somewhere, and the most crucial thing is to begin. You never know where your journey might take you. Now, go and start something…

By Ed Johnson, CEO & Co-Founder of uRoutine