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GCSE Results Day 2025: What Does Exam Season Have In Common with Startup Life?

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It’s GCSE Results Day, and as a student, whether you’re buzzing, gutted or just relieved it’s over, today probably feels like a big deal. And it certainly is. You’ve probably worked hard, pushed through and have almost definitely earned whatever celebrations your planning – even if it’s just a delicious snack or an extra long nap.

But, here’s something you may not expect to hear today – if you’ve just battled your way through exam season, you actually already know a lot about what it feels like to launch a startup.

That may sound like a bit of a joke, but the reality is that startup life and GCSEs actually share more in common than you’d think – from stress to strategy to the environment of total and utter chaos.

 

Crunch Time Pressure Is a Startup Reality

 

Remember those final weeks of revision – flashcards everywhere, YouTube videos at 1.5x speed and last-minute group chats panicking over past paper questions. I get shivers just thinking about that panic – the naive (but totally normal and understandable) feeling that the world may very well, in fact, be about to end.

So, that’s basically startup mode.

Starting a business isn’t some calm, quiet journey. It’s usually messy, high-stress and full of uncertainty. Founders are often working long hours trying to hit a launch date, fix a problem or get a pitch together for investors. There’s an insane amount of pressure, endless time limits and so much trial and error.

Ultimately, just like you did with your exams, founders have to push through the noise, prioritise what matters and show up even when they don’t feel 100% ready.

So if you managed to power through revision season, you’ve already had a taste of that startup hustle, and you survived, didn’t you?

 

You Learn the Most When It’s Hard

 

No one loves the panic of an exam hall, but the truth is that that feeling – of rising to a challenge, even when it’s uncomfortable and feels insurmountable – is where the growth happens.

Startups are basically a series of challenges. Things go wrong, plans change. You may launch something and no one uses it, and the truth is, you’re going to hear “no” a lot. But just like in school, you figure out what works by learning what doesn’t and at the same time, you become more resilient too.

If your results today weren’t what you hoped for, that’s okay. Plenty of successful founders did badly in school. Others did fine, but still had no clue what they wanted to do next – most people, in fact.

Either way, they kept learning, and that’s the key. Whether it’s coding, marketing, design or just managing your time better, your results don’t limit your potential. Your effort, your curiosity and your ability to adapt do. So, while your final GCSE results are really important in many senses, it also the process of learning, struggling and getting through it all that provides you with the best long-term skills that you’ll end up using going forward in both your personal and professional life.

 

Where To From Here?

 

If you’re into the idea of building something – whether it’s a brand, a product, a startup, a YouTube channel or whatever – this is the perfect time to explore. You don’t need a perfect set of grades to start learning skills that matter in the real world. This period of your life, when you’re still young, excited and flexible, is the perfect time to experiment and find your niche.

So, jump right in! Even if you fail at first, that’s okay – most people do! It just means you’re one step closer to being successful.

If you got the grades you wanted, that’s brilliant and you should be proud of yourself and your hard work. If you put in the effort but didn’t quite get the results you were hoping for, that’s also okay. Pick yourself up and get back on the horse, because everybody’s different and there are so many opportunities to be successful.

So ask questions and be curious – that’s more powerful than any grade.

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