[satvikpendem]

Not really, it's better to just start your own startup instead, there is not much need to spend years as a founding engineer before becoming a founder, you might learn some skills but it's nothing you can't learn yourself, as evidenced by the people who are first time founders who did not previously work at a startup. If you get to some scale and get acquired (or even shut down), you can leverage that for future higher positions that a founding employee would not get you.

[Berone]

It just depends on if you have the background and talent to warrant that role. I think that is an exceptional case for someone to get funding and support to build a venture without any operating experience.

[satvikpendem]

Most companies that YC and other VCs fund are by first-time founders, mostly those who have not been in other startups. Like the other commenter said, the path to being a founder is actually founding.

[lazide]

If operating == running an existing similar company, then almost no successful founders I’m aware of had such experience before hand, did they?