As we head home for the holidays, college seniors will face a barrage of questions, most of which inevitably boil down to the insomnia-inducing, “What are you going to do next year?” While this question can lead us to sudden existential crises, in the macro, this question leads to a more interesting inquiry — how do college graduates choose a path?

Andrew Yang, successful entrepreneur and founder of Venture for America, has an answer: “Yes, grads want to earn a decent salary. But more than money, grads want something that is prestigious, that teaches them skills that translate to other fields, and that will keep them competitive with their peers.”

This thinking leads smart grads to congregate in fields like banking and consulting or head to large corporations. Others, fighting the corporate route but lacking direction, continue on to grad school, a move perfectly consistent with Yang’s proposition.

But why not start-ups?

To start, start-ups are hard to find and evaluate, they don’t offer a structured path and there is high risk with uncertain reward. With an estimated start-up failure rate of 90 percent, most NYU graduates will take the better-paved route by flocking to secure industries. But start-ups offer qualities larger companies cannot. Rather than being a cog in the corporate wheel, start-up employees quickly become integral to the company’s success. Even more, a start-up is a fast-paced, highly personal environment that allows a recent grad to grow in ways a bigger environment does not allow.

For the past three months, I have been interning with Yang at Venture for America, a nonprofit that seeks to mobilize and socialize talented grads, called fellows, as entrepreneurs. VFA provides these fellows with training and mentorship, and then places them in thoroughly vetted startups in emerging cities such as Detroit, New Orleans and Providence, R.I. to help those companies grow. Along with eliminating some of the inherent risk of joining a startup, VFA blends the hands-on experience of building a company with the community, training and support of a large firm.

The first time I met Yang, he asked me to think of my 10 smartest friends. Then he asked me, what if these friends, instead of going into finance or corporations, moved to Detroit and started a company. “How quickly do you think the city would become the Detroit of our parents’ generation?” Though the fellows will be working for for-profit companies and bettering their own future prospects, their ultimate goal is to use entrepreneurship to create a positive, lasting impact in their respective cities.

My time at VFA, a young, small organization itself, has embodied the value of working at a startup. I have now amassed five internships while at NYU; the first four never gave me the gratification of knowing that every day I added something truly valuable to the organization. Venture for America has.

So as you think about how you will answer your family’s questions, give startups another look. While they are not for everyone — some people do dream of working in finance or big business — for those interested in entrepreneurship, there is no greater calling.

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Dec. 3 print edition. Zeve Sanderson is a contributing writer. Email him at [email protected].