Yep any build will work, and barring significant cause to the contrary I’ll usually avoid multiclassing before 4 to ensure an early feat, and respec for an early multiclass once they won’t lose that feat. For example, I wanted Gale to be a Wiz / Bard, I did Wiz 4 then respecced at 5 to Woz 1 / Bard 4.
That being said, some things that make the early game a breeze:
Thief Rogue with dual hand crossbows and Sharpshooter- 3 attacks per round by 3, 20ish average damage on a hit by 4. This is the obvious early game powerhouse and can carry you through the early game on its own.
Druid (any subclass) focusing on Spider form and using web to immobilize enemies and more importantly granting advantage. This lets your Sharpshooters and Great Weapon Masters hit reliably. And can be spammed.
Monk of any kind will grant a high amount of early attacks and high mobility. You can’t properly leverage Tavern Brawler without *something* suffering stat wise before you get potions to fix that, which comes a bit later on (goblin camp at the earliest), but even a Dex based Monk will do just fine in the early levels.
Ranger of any kind gets a conditional extra attack at 3, beastmaster gets the best additional attack and tank.
Life cleric gets a ton of great early items to support buffing people on healing. I think a fair amount of it is a bit later but it’s very nice and very powerful early game.
Those are the things that come to mind, most Classes power spike at 5, GWM with an extra attack on Paladin, Barb or Fighter as an example starts to be decent, especially if and when you start dipping into those potions of speed you’ve collected. Eldritch Blast gets a second beam, and with each spell level gained primary casters get better. But one or more of the above (especially thief Rogue) will make getting there much easier.
As to what feat to take at 4, why there’s a whole topic where they’re ranked and discussed
