>and only have equity to pay them There are legal forms to share a company that are not a GmbH but come with personal liabilities. There is also always the opt

>and only have equity to pay them There are legal forms to share a company that are not a GmbH but come with personal liabilities. There is also always the option to use an English Ltd or that Swedish form. >there is no right answer to the question of whether a risk is worth taking. I tend to disagree. Multiply the risk with the expected profits. Unlike extreme sports, death is not part of the outcome unless you invest in drugs. It's not about thrills and crossing boundaries. If the expected profits are the highest, a risky investment is the reasonable choice, no matter the size of the risk. Regarding the age, a 25 year old has the most to lose. Until 26 or 27, the brain has the biggest capacity for development. Wasting those years on something profitable but non-educative is a waste of potential. On the other hand, most successful companies are created by older founders because they have the experience and network to be able to succeed. The 30 year old manager on the other hand hasn't even reached the middle of his life. What if he runs a project in his company that fails? Will he have to prevent mistakes at all costs? Will he ever be able to manage instead of having to cover his ass for further 30 years? By focussing on what he could lose, he is wasting all the opportunities in his life. People who think like that shouldn't start a company. High profits don't come from high risks. As you say, if you only have the option between high profit, high risk and low profit, low risk, then it is all about risk preference. However, it's all about information asymmetry. Once you know a market and you see an opportunity, that means the risk is lower or the profits are higher than any other market participants assumes.