You aren't required to get a support item, but I suggest you get one first back at the latest. Its still 1k free gold, and some stats to sit on until you feel like selling it.
Starting
can be better than the support item for a lot of tanks. But you really want that income at some point. You lose less than 300g, while having a much stronger early game.
300 gold might sound like a lot, but you have to remember that its capped, which means you might have 300 less gold than you would have at your first back, but you can still gain another 300g that the enemy support cannot after theirs is finished, assuming quest progress is evenly paced.
Instead of finishing your quest at 20 minutes, you might finish it at 21 or 22 mins. You effectively lose no gold because there is an income cap.
I feel like it could be worth simply due to the damage and sustain that the item adds. It gives you WAY more agency in the super early game on pretty much any support.
If that gives your ADC a lead, its WELL worth it, as their lead will be controlling the lane more than you would finishing your support item 2 mins earlier.