16 ms·

I think the point people are trying to get across with those stories is that quitting your job is by far the most important step.

by blhack 9y ago

ryanSrich 9y ago
I'm pretty sure that's extremely well know. I still wouldn't advise ever quiting your job and starting a company. The risk to reward ratio is so far out of whack the math will never work out.
- akanet 9y ago
  I, and many other bootstrappers entirely disagree. The only risk you run is missing one year of income, typically. You can uh, usually just get another job.
  - alsetmusic 9y ago
    > The only risk you run is missing one year of income, typically. You can uh, usually just get another job. I left a great job to strike out on my own. After years of effort, two business plans, one failed partnership and moderate success with the second attempt, I would much prefer to have a steady paycheck with good benefits again. It's harder to break back into my previous career path due to the gap this created on my resume. It's not safe to assume that you'll find work as soon as you're ready to switch back to a corporate gig.
    - nitrogen 9y ago
      Is there some way you can spin that "gap" as an advantage?
      - triangleman 9y ago
        Indeed, "CEO of failed 2-4 person startup" got a friend of mine all sorts of opportunity, now he's CTO of a more promising startup.
        bronson 9y ago
        And then "CTO of a failed 10-15 person startup" will get him an even better position.
    - oblio 9y ago
      Is your local job market that bad? I basically took a 1 year and a half break and I got a job within 3 months, after interviewing with 6 (I think?) companies. And this is in a small (albeit rich) European city of about 400k people.
      - pjmlp 9y ago
        As fellow southern European, with regular trips to the Mediterranean area, I would say even here that would be quite bad for anyone on the south or eastern countries.
        ccozan 9y ago
        except Romania, you land a job in IT in less than a week if you have minimal experience. The OP can confirm, he lived a considerable time there ( not sure where? Bucharest maybe? )
        pjmlp 9y ago
        So how to search for a IT job in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Croatia and get one in less than one week, specially when living outside the capital? Because I want to share those tips with a few friends still looking for one after several months unemployment.
        oblio 9y ago
        If your job market is really bad, not much you can do locally. However, in IT we have flexibility: * try freelancing * create an OSS portfolio * try remote companies * try jobs for which you're overqualified if it really is that bad. And if it is that bad for IT folks, I pity most non-IT people, to be honest.
        pjmlp 9y ago
        It is really that bad. https://www.statista.com/statistics/268830/unemployment-rate-in-eu-countries/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/268830/unemployment-rate... Between 10 and 23% for the countries I mentioned. Also getting an IT job currently might mean having to move into the capitals, as other cities have even less offers available and obviously there is not enough jobs on the capitals for everyone.
  - pjmlp 9y ago
    No you can't, not every place of the world is a Silicon Valley hungry for developers. Many of them is already quite hard to even have one in first place, let alone getting back with a hole on the CV not 100% related to the bullet points they are looking for.
    - imron 9y ago
      But Silicon Valley is so hungry for developers, there are ample remote opportunities for capable developers.
      - pjmlp 9y ago
        Which requires: - broandband internet access - having to work on a completly different timezone - having to care care of social security and other regulations on their own - bypassing the local work laws regarding vacation days and work hours
        imron 9y ago
        None of those are major obstacles (and I speak from experience as someone who does remote work for clients in Silicon Valley, while living in a completely different timezone), but regular Internet access of some kind is required.
IncRnd 9y ago
Depending on the structure, that isn't true, though. To start a business, the most important part is the starting of that business, even if you stay at your current job at the beginning.

I think the point people are trying to get across with those stories is that quitting your job is by far the most important step.

by blhack 9y ago

I think the point people are trying to get across with those stories is that quitting your job is by far the most important step.

ryanSrich 9y ago

I'm pretty sure that's extremely well know. I still wouldn't advise ever quiting your job and starting a company. The risk to reward ratio is so far out of whack the math will never work out.

akanet 9y ago
I, and many other bootstrappers entirely disagree. The only risk you run is missing one year of income, typically. You can uh, usually just get another job.
- alsetmusic 9y ago
  > The only risk you run is missing one year of income, typically. You can uh, usually just get another job. I left a great job to strike out on my own. After years of effort, two business plans, one failed partnership and moderate success with the second attempt, I would much prefer to have a steady paycheck with good benefits again. It's harder to break back into my previous career path due to the gap this created on my resume. It's not safe to assume that you'll find work as soon as you're ready to switch back to a corporate gig.
  - nitrogen 9y ago
    Is there some way you can spin that "gap" as an advantage?
    - triangleman 9y ago
      Indeed, "CEO of failed 2-4 person startup" got a friend of mine all sorts of opportunity, now he's CTO of a more promising startup.
      - bronson 9y ago
        And then "CTO of a failed 10-15 person startup" will get him an even better position.
  - oblio 9y ago
    Is your local job market that bad? I basically took a 1 year and a half break and I got a job within 3 months, after interviewing with 6 (I think?) companies. And this is in a small (albeit rich) European city of about 400k people.
    - pjmlp 9y ago
      As fellow southern European, with regular trips to the Mediterranean area, I would say even here that would be quite bad for anyone on the south or eastern countries.
      - ccozan 9y ago
        except Romania, you land a job in IT in less than a week if you have minimal experience. The OP can confirm, he lived a considerable time there ( not sure where? Bucharest maybe? )
        pjmlp 9y ago
        So how to search for a IT job in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Croatia and get one in less than one week, specially when living outside the capital? Because I want to share those tips with a few friends still looking for one after several months unemployment.
        oblio 9y ago
        If your job market is really bad, not much you can do locally. However, in IT we have flexibility: * try freelancing * create an OSS portfolio * try remote companies * try jobs for which you're overqualified if it really is that bad. And if it is that bad for IT folks, I pity most non-IT people, to be honest.
        pjmlp 9y ago
        It is really that bad. https://www.statista.com/statistics/268830/unemployment-rate-in-eu-countries/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/268830/unemployment-rate... Between 10 and 23% for the countries I mentioned. Also getting an IT job currently might mean having to move into the capitals, as other cities have even less offers available and obviously there is not enough jobs on the capitals for everyone.
- pjmlp 9y ago
  No you can't, not every place of the world is a Silicon Valley hungry for developers. Many of them is already quite hard to even have one in first place, let alone getting back with a hole on the CV not 100% related to the bullet points they are looking for.
  - imron 9y ago
    But Silicon Valley is so hungry for developers, there are ample remote opportunities for capable developers.
    - pjmlp 9y ago
      Which requires: - broandband internet access - having to work on a completly different timezone - having to care care of social security and other regulations on their own - bypassing the local work laws regarding vacation days and work hours
      - imron 9y ago
        None of those are major obstacles (and I speak from experience as someone who does remote work for clients in Silicon Valley, while living in a completely different timezone), but regular Internet access of some kind is required.

IncRnd 9y ago

Depending on the structure, that isn't true, though. To start a business, the most important part is the starting of that business, even if you stay at your current job at the beginning.