Being able to save for 2 years alone is a massive endeavor for most people. This usually means one or more of: 1. living far below means for years 2. delaying l

Being able to save for 2 years alone is a massive endeavor for most people. This usually means one or more of: 1. living far below means for years 2. delaying life events (marriage, house, grad school, etc.) 3. having low enough unexpected expenses to make that fund last for 2 years. I basically couldn't make it work for various reasons related to being married and needing to have some health insurance that costs over $1.1k / mo. Meanwhile, if my spouse has the privilege of a job with decent health insurance, the expense plummets to $400 / mo which makes a huge difference. The more realistic route for most people is to work part-time on your projects perhaps taking years longer than if you were to have quit and worked full-time and to quit your job when one of them pans out to being viable. This approach tends to work substantially better for non-business ventures like writing, performance art, etc. Look at all the middle-class / lower income writers that worked awful jobs for years to make ends meet but kept writing. Most of them had 9-to-5 jobs but for a lot of software jobs that pay into the six figure range, they are far, far more demanding of you mentally than waiting tables (although physical exhaustion absolutely affects mental ability, too). This level of work, however, is probably what it takes to be an entrepreneur without much means given that even those with means oftentimes have to work so much for even a small chance at a business opportunity.