[fiatmoney]

"Doing a startup" is a middling to bad idea (particularly if you mean "working for below-market wages & illiquid impossible-to-value options at a hip VC funded consumer web foosball emporium", as opposed to actually founding).

"Starting a company" on the other hand is an excellent idea, if you think you've found a niche where you can make it work.

Your remarks about wanting to "feel the excitement" and "compete with the 20s" though make me think you might want to contemplate what you're trying to get out of it. If it's possibly-positive-value consumption (similar to the idea of starting a clothing boutique or coffeeshop) that's a different decision calculus than if it's an investment of time & some money that's intended to pay off with a given return in a given timeframe.

Some people spend money climbing mountains; some people found guide companies so they can spend more time climbing mountains; some people found sporting goods stores because they've noticed the margins are pretty high and more people seem to be climbing mountains lately. There's a key difference between #2 & #3.

[thisrod]

And #2 never works: people who try that soon find that they're too worn out to climb anything fun, they're stuck in the mountains, and they don't like being there any more.