Adam Witty has gone from college student to CEO in just a few months. The 22-year-old entrepreneur founded Advantage Networks, a ticketing Web site and sports marketing firm, as he was graduating from Clemson University in May.

The Florida native is in the early stages of his first business. He works from the basement of his home in Clemson, S.C.

Witty spent the summer in a motor home running tailgate events at 49 Major League Baseball parks. Sponsors like Louisville Slugger and Chevrolet hired him to promote their brands and fire up pregame crowds. In all, his team of 12 clocked 21,538 miles. Next, he'll lead marketing tours running events for NCAA Southern Conference basketball games.

He expects Advantage's revenue to hit $250,000 this year, mostly from the sports marketing venture, with some help from a small ticket-trading Web site that he started in 2001.

Entrepreneurs Don't Wait

Witty knows he launched when the economy was still shaky. But he never considered waiting. "The true entrepreneur doesn't monitor the economy and wait for certain fluctuations to start a business," he said. "The true entrepreneur is so passionate about something that they just say, "The hell with it all,' and dive in head first."

Optimism has to come with any untested business. But is now a good time to start?

Economists and entrepreneurs say yes.

Striking out on your own at the end of a downturn isn't a bad idea.

There are a few reasons. For instance, the unemployment rate has been dropping lately, but it's still around 6%. So hiring is easier, applicants are more qualified and wages can be kept down, thanks to competition for jobs. Plus, established rivals can be weaker after years of cost-cutting and slow demand. Renting space is also an easier prospect as landlords scramble to fill empty offices.

And with the U.S. economy picking back up -- it grew 7.2% in the third quarter -- demand looks to be on the upswing.

Bruce Phillips, a senior economist with the National Federation of Independent Business, says business creation always happens during a downturn.

"When the economy turns downward, some kinds of businesses will always start," he said.

For example, he says, large construction companies lay off workers. But those skilled laborers can move into their own businesses quickly as contractors. About 20% of business formation is counter-cyclical, he says. Because starting a business takes time, laying the groundwork for a new venture while costs are lower gives start-ups some help, Phillips adds.

Phillips says in good times or bad, its always tough to predict how start-ups will fare.

"I can't answer that question," he said. "Companies that start during recessions succeed depending on how capitalized they are and (which industries) they are in."

The Best Of Times

Another new CEO, Ryan Allis, runs Broadwick Corp., a small firm that makes software for online newsletter distribution. "A recession is the best time to start a company. By the time your company is starting to do well, you're in a good economic time and your company can really take off," he said. "If (you start when) the economy is doing well, there are just so many businesses out there."

He also notes that making it through the downturn should strengthen firms for the recovery.

"If you can make more than you spend in a recessionary time, you have a big advantage," Allis said. "Lesser competitors have dropped out of the market," he said. "Now, our company has a head start." Broadwick filed for incorporation in July. He's booked about $15,000 in sales so far.

That's not to say getting started is as easy as it was during the heyday of the Internet boom.

Venture capitalists continue to be wary of unproven ventures. They invested $4.2 billion in 667 companies during the third quarter, says the PricewaterhouseCoopers/Thomson Venture/National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree Survey. That was 8% less money than in the second quarter, and it went to 5% fewer companies.

That's a far cry from the high point of nearly $25 billion in the second quarter of 2000.

And it translates to bad news for start-ups. Of the 667 firms surveyed, just 148 got first-time funding. That was worth $766 million, or 18% of all new dollars invested. By contrast, expanding companies got 55% of the third-quarter venture capital as backers preferred surer bets on firms with existing track records.

For untested firms, that means hitting up friends, family and other angel investors for seed money.

"I know venture capital is a very tricky business. I've tried to avoid that. When you don't have somebody else's money, it keeps you more honest and is a whole lot more manageable," Witty said.

He borrowed money from his father, plus other family members and friends. Allis' funding came from private investors as well.

Brien Biondi runs the Young Entrepreneurs' Organization. That's a volunteer group of under-40 owners, founders or controlling shareholders of firms with annual sales of $1 million or more.

Biondi says the group's members have felt the drop-off in outside investors.

"The drawback is that two years ago the money was more easily available. Start-up money is still there. You just have to work harder for it," he said. "A lot of companies today are starting on credit cards, second mortgages and loans."

Allis and Wittyagree that the economy, good or bad, wasn't as important as the desire to bring their ideas to fruition and be their own boss. "My goal is to never have to interview for a job in my life," Witty said. "We'll see."