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I like this post. I wish I really started a startup in college or right after. A regular corporate job turns you into a zombie and you become out of touch with

I like this post. I wish I really started a startup in college or right after. A regular corporate job turns you into a zombie and you become out of touch with reality especially if you're well paid and well fed. A lot of people are unprepared for the hard life. If anything, you'll learn more about life in 6 months than you will in decades. It's not just the technical stuff. You'll learn who your real friends are. Being broke and thinking you might go homeless will make you sympathize with the homeless. Co-founders will try to screw you. If you're married, you'll soon find out if your spouse really loves you or just the regular income. Fake people pop up everywhere trying to take credit for your hard work. I think a startup is akin to the street life without the street creds.

scottLobster 9y ago
As a counterpoint: My spouse's ongoing education is currently dependent on my regular income. Once she graduates it'll effectively double our collective income and hopefully give her her first good career. I'm not sure how I could sell gambling all of that on a 90% chance of failure even if I wanted to. Sounds like the act of a gambling addict. Also, if you need to gamble your family's livelihood to find out if your spouse really loves you or not, why are you married? Similar sentiment for your friends. Being able to sympathize with the homeless sounds like a horrible return for sacrificing your livelihood. Dealing with backstabbing co-founders doesn't sound all that educational, just miserable. Fake people are a thing in all walks of life. I don't come from the rosiest background in the world, I've had enough severe instability and drama forced upon me in the past to know there's nothing romantic about it. It should be avoided unless there's a tangible payoff, and certainly greater than a 10% chance of success. My regular corporate job is currently giving me a stable platform upon which I can save, build up my household and consider launching a business on my own terms. It's also giving me valuable professional experience as I see how a large company ships product. I'm so glad I didn't go the startup route straight out of college, I've learned so much about business on the job that my engineering degree never remotely touched. It's hardly my dream job but I don't dread my work, nor do I feel like a zombie. In 10 years I'll likely have enough saved up to seriously consider my own business, and enough contacts/professional clout to go back to regular work if it fails. I'll also have 10 more years of business experience to draw on, likely from at least 2 more companies. Why do a startup now, or God forbid right when I graduated, when I have/had the fewest resources and the fewest advantages?
- jaypaulynice 9y ago
  You don't think financing your spouse education is a gamble? Who is to say you won't get divorced right after she's done? That's honorable, but at the same time a huge risk.
  - true_religion 9y ago
    Whilst anything is possible, it ought to be much easier to gamble on staying married than gamble on a fickle market of consumers liking a product that you haven't built and is in no way similar to anything else.
    - jaypaulynice 9y ago
      This is not true for even the best entrepreneurs of our times...many are divorced multiple times so gambling on staying married is a bigger risk. Elon Musk and Sergey Brin are just a couple examples. Your spouse can dump you at any second no matter how secure you think your relationship is.
      - true_religion 9y ago
        That's an example of entrepreneurship being hard on your relationship. So if you go into a startup, you might end up with both a failed business and a divorce. It's only tenacity, talent, and good timing that lead to Musk and Brin having the good luck to be divorced.... but successful.
  - scottLobster 9y ago
    The fact that we were together for 7 years before we were married, and the experiences that came with that. We were a thing long before I had any money to speak of (or any real financial prospects), and she's supported me through quite a bit as I've supported her. If she's milking me for my money then I have no shame, because she'll have outdone Machiavelli several times over to hide it this well for this long. Sometimes people actually love each other. I'm lucky in that regard.
cooervo 9y ago
It seems like you started a telenovela, more than a startup... When everybody is betraying you and being false, it might be that you are the a-hole
- jaypaulynice 9y ago
  Why the flame war? This is from my observation and personal life. My wife and I have friends that are a lot older and this is the reality that no one talks about...betrayal in business is a very common thing...it's the nicest and good natured people who get taken advantage of...
Veelox 9y ago
> If you're married, you'll soon find out if your spouse really loves you or just the regular income. Stress does crazy things to people. I have no desire to drag my wife through hell. I love her and want a good life for her. I don't she would leave me if I lost all my income but with that said. The amount of stress it would put on her to go through what you are talking about is not worth any amount of money.

scottLobster 9y ago

As a counterpoint: My spouse's ongoing education is currently dependent on my regular income. Once she graduates it'll effectively double our collective income and hopefully give her her first good career. I'm not sure how I could sell gambling all of that on a 90% chance of failure even if I wanted to. Sounds like the act of a gambling addict. Also, if you need to gamble your family's livelihood to find out if your spouse really loves you or not, why are you married? Similar sentiment for your friends. Being able to sympathize with the homeless sounds like a horrible return for sacrificing your livelihood. Dealing with backstabbing co-founders doesn't sound all that educational, just miserable. Fake people are a thing in all walks of life. I don't come from the rosiest background in the world, I've had enough severe instability and drama forced upon me in the past to know there's nothing romantic about it. It should be avoided unless there's a tangible payoff, and certainly greater than a 10% chance of success. My regular corporate job is currently giving me a stable platform upon which I can save, build up my household and consider launching a business on my own terms. It's also giving me valuable professional experience as I see how a large company ships product. I'm so glad I didn't go the startup route straight out of college, I've learned so much about business on the job that my engineering degree never remotely touched. It's hardly my dream job but I don't dread my work, nor do I feel like a zombie. In 10 years I'll likely have enough saved up to seriously consider my own business, and enough contacts/professional clout to go back to regular work if it fails. I'll also have 10 more years of business experience to draw on, likely from at least 2 more companies. Why do a startup now, or God forbid right when I graduated, when I have/had the fewest resources and the fewest advantages?

jaypaulynice 9y ago
You don't think financing your spouse education is a gamble? Who is to say you won't get divorced right after she's done? That's honorable, but at the same time a huge risk.
- true_religion 9y ago
  Whilst anything is possible, it ought to be much easier to gamble on staying married than gamble on a fickle market of consumers liking a product that you haven't built and is in no way similar to anything else.
  - jaypaulynice 9y ago
    This is not true for even the best entrepreneurs of our times...many are divorced multiple times so gambling on staying married is a bigger risk. Elon Musk and Sergey Brin are just a couple examples. Your spouse can dump you at any second no matter how secure you think your relationship is.
    - true_religion 9y ago
      That's an example of entrepreneurship being hard on your relationship. So if you go into a startup, you might end up with both a failed business and a divorce. It's only tenacity, talent, and good timing that lead to Musk and Brin having the good luck to be divorced.... but successful.
- scottLobster 9y ago
  The fact that we were together for 7 years before we were married, and the experiences that came with that. We were a thing long before I had any money to speak of (or any real financial prospects), and she's supported me through quite a bit as I've supported her. If she's milking me for my money then I have no shame, because she'll have outdone Machiavelli several times over to hide it this well for this long. Sometimes people actually love each other. I'm lucky in that regard.

cooervo 9y ago

It seems like you started a telenovela, more than a startup... When everybody is betraying you and being false, it might be that you are the a-hole

jaypaulynice 9y ago
Why the flame war? This is from my observation and personal life. My wife and I have friends that are a lot older and this is the reality that no one talks about...betrayal in business is a very common thing...it's the nicest and good natured people who get taken advantage of...

Veelox 9y ago

> If you're married, you'll soon find out if your spouse really loves you or just the regular income. Stress does crazy things to people. I have no desire to drag my wife through hell. I love her and want a good life for her. I don't she would leave me if I lost all my income but with that said. The amount of stress it would put on her to go through what you are talking about is not worth any amount of money.