I understand there are a lot of older folk on this sub, people who have entrepreneurs longer than I've been alive. (18M)
I've been noticing a cycle where many entrepreneurs just jump from startup to startup for years and never get anywhere significant. My dad was one such example.
I remember him remarking that he'd probably be a millionaire by now if he just put all of that effort into real estate investing.
My current actionable steps which I've been taking have been to learn as many high value skills as possible and meet other highly capable individuals to network with. Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.
Most kids my age who want to be rich normally just get trapped into some Tate like multi-level marketing scheme, whereas I'm taking a much longer term approach to it. Although I admit I've fallen for that stuff in the past.
By startup, I mean a totally new idea.
So my question is: Should I just forget startups and put my efforts into real estate? If you were in my situation with what you know, what would you do?
For a brief idea of what I'm thinking for real estate: Get an degree majoring in accounting and minoring in real estate. Continue to level up my financial literacy. Move to an economically expanding area such as Texas or Florida, and more specifically the suburbs of a large city. Work for a real estate investing company so I can understand the backend structure of how they invest and manage their properties. Possibly try to work for my wrestling coach for free who is already a mid level real estate investor. Join real estate clubs. Get my license so I can save on commissions and don't need an agent to access MLS. Utilize programs such as the USDA loan program or FHA loan program. More specifically use the FHA loan program to get a 3.5% down payment on a multifamily property that I would then house hack.
Of course I know that real estate investing will have a set of challenges in its own right.
Real estate is definitely lower risk than anything that involves intellectual property, like Software.
That said, startups do have financing tools that reduce the risk to the founders and pass it on to investors. I don't know if your father self funded, but if you get an angel investor or incubator to invest, then you can work towards the dream while still earning a steady income.
Still, real estate is always going to be a lower risk endeavor, so you'll have to do some soul-searching there.