The woman radical 女 sits at the origin of 始 because ancient etymology located all beginnings in birth — the first of everything comes from the mother. 台 carries the sound. 始 is the moment before which there was nothing.
秦始皇 Qin Shihuang chose this character for his title: 'the FIRST emperor', founder of the count that was supposed to run 万世 — ten thousand generations. It ran two. 开始 remains the word every teacher, referee, and meditation app uses to say: begin.
Every story BEGINS where life does — with a mother 女 on the platform 台 of time.
自始至终 'from start to finish' packs 始 and 终 into the Chinese for 'all along' — beginnings and endings in one breath.