I started my first company at 14 and am on to my third at 21, while still in college. Here’s my best advice for new entrepreneurs.

Srikar Srinivasan, a 21-year-old Babson College student and founder of Arcangel, an AI platform for intellectual property, shares his entrepreneurial journey in an as-told-to essay. He advises young entrepreneurs to identify personal problems to develop business ideas, validate those ideas by talking to 100 potential customers before development, and to be prepared to pivot when necessary.

Srinivasan believes that the best ideas come from problems one personally faces or experiences in the lives of friends and acquaintances. He also stresses the importance of domain expertise and not relying solely on AI, but rather using it to augment tasks such as software development, customer service, market research, and product design.

Srinivasan, who has started three companies, emphasizes the availability of non-dilutive funding sources such as grants, accelerator programs, and pitch competitions, and encourages entrepreneurs to demonstrate demand before seeking venture capital.