21
Feeling lost after closing my profitable business and going to university overseas
r/Entrepreneur
7/9/2025
Content Summary
A 21-year-old entrepreneur shares his struggle after closing a successful acoustic panel business (200k sales in 1.5 years) to attend university in Melbourne. While maintaining good academic performance, he feels unfulfilled by university education and seeks advice on balancing entrepreneurship with studies. The post reveals his core skills in sales/marketing and explores options like restarting the business, dropshipping, or agency work. Commenters suggest leveraging university networks, conducting MVP experiments, and maintaining business operations through remote teams.
Opinion Analysis
Mainstream opinions suggest leveraging university resources for networking while maintaining entrepreneurial activities. Key viewpoints:
- Education vs Entrepreneurship: Debate between completing degree as fallback (u/LABFounder) vs focusing on business growth (u/Head-Cantaloupe371)
- Operational Strategies: Strong support for remote team management (u/mason3991) and rapid experimentation (u/No_Owl5835)
- Career Development: Contrast between formal education value (u/LABFounder) and real-world experience (u/Dutchmany) Controversial aspect: Whether university time should be fully dedicated to studies or treated as business incubation period. Some suggest hybrid approach using student workforce and MVP testing.
SAAS TOOLS
| SaaS | URL | Category | Features/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Ads | N/A | Advertising | PPC campaigns, customer acquisition |
| Asana | N/A | Project Management | Task tracking, team coordination |
| Google Keyword Planner | N/A | SEO Tools | Keyword research, search intent analysis |
| Pulse for Reddit | N/A | Social Media Tools | Subreddit engagement, interest gauging |
USER NEEDS
Pain Points:
- University education feels unengaging and unproductive
- Lack of active skill development and revenue generation
- Difficulty focusing on new ventures while studying
Problems to Solve:
- Balancing entrepreneurship with academic commitments
- Finding meaningful projects to maintain growth momentum
- Transitioning from established business to new opportunities
Potential Solutions:
- Restart business in new location with remote team
- Conduct 90-day MVP experiments around campus problems
- Use university network for future partnerships and hiring
GROWTH FACTORS
Effective Strategies:
- Maintaining lean operations with low fixed costs
- Rapid experimentation with MVPs and market validation
Marketing & Acquisition:
- Google Ads for targeted customer acquisition
- Content creation and CRO for website optimization
Monetization & Product:
- Direct sales to businesses and corporate clients
- Physical product focus with installation services
User Engagement:
- Using Reddit communities for market validation
- Student hiring for operational scaling