So, you have your own startup idea you can't get it out of your mind. How do you bring it to life?
During InnovFest unbound, an event in Singapore that connects startups with corporates, CNBC asked three entrepreneurs who built their own businesses how they got started. The roster included Malcolm Rodrigues, CEO of MyRepublic, an internet services provider; Shaul Olmert, CEO of online publishing platform Playbuzz; and Steve Melhuish, co-founder of PropertyGuru, a real estate listings platform.
1. It's always the right time to launch your startup.
Despite global venture funding going down last year, the market is still ripe for startups, those who have done it say. "There's always excuses that it's not the right time, but it always is," said Playbuzz's Olmert, who spent most of his career climbing the corporate ladder before taking the leap into his own venture.
"I think everybody should do a startup," Rodrigues added. "It changes how you view life. Whether you do it when you're out of school or when you're 40 years old, you're never too late. However, he warned that if you don't have your own idea that excites you, then it's best to go into a corporate job.
Ideally, however, entrepreneurs get started on failing early, he joked. "You're going to fail three times before you're successful, so do it early, get it out of the way."
2. When you reach your breaking point, jump the corporate ship.
Melhuish spent more than a decade working for a corporation in the telecom space, before starting his real-estate platform. After leaving a corporate job, he took 6 months off to travel throughout Southeast Asia. "There's a big world out here and it was a big change."