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Why I Quit My Job to Start a Tech Company
- famoreira 15y agoMost people would consider a $250k salary as 'making it'. Kudos to you for being brave and building something on your own.
- czzarr 15y agoyup, and don't forget that 5-10 years later he'd probably bank 1mil+/year having started so high if he was good at what he did, which he probably is.
- Casc 15y ago250k 3 years out of college? Jesus... I have plenty of Ivy league friends in IB & PE making no where near that.. He landed a serious gig. Definitely tough to leave something so cushy so young. Sometimes it really is all about the game.
- CapitalistCartr 15y agoWhat is IB & PE?
- tansey 15y agoInvestment Banking and Private Equity
- itg 15y agoYeah, I don't know anyone a few years out of college making that money in finance, even if you add in bonuses.
- veyron 15y agoProbably because they went to large banks. You can get offers out of college paying 300K+ if you join a smaller outfit.
- rdouble 15y agoIt seems like a baller gig like that would make it _easier_ to quit and start something up. You'd be able to save so much more money, than say, someone who took a typical Silicon Valley entry level programming job. If he had chosen to work at Google, he'd have been lucky to make 1/2 that.
- Casc 15y agoI'd agree with your logic if he was in the tech industry, but he wasn't. He had 0 technical skills, his barrier to entry was far greater than money.
- bitanarch 15y agoAgreed. Money is not really the thing in shortage, the ability to execute is. And the ability to implement the product, and by extension, understand what and how much resources are needed to implement a product, is a big part of that.
- yoshyosh 15y agoIf you were guaranteed $250k a year with potential to receive more every 5 years or so, were able to buy a house, nice car, and support a family without worrying about any financial hardships, you think it would be _easier_ to quit? To go to what, the potential for no salary, constant paranoia of whether you made the right decision or not, and get into a field you know relatively nothing about? It's a pity that these tremendous acts of courage are often overlooked because its _easier_ to walk away from a lot of money.
- wdrury 15y agoStarting anything and seeing it through takes courage. However, it doesn't seem more courageous to me to start a company with, say, $200k in the bank than to start with no money. Runway matters.
- rdouble 15y agoIf you were guaranteed $250k a year with potential to receive more every 5 years or so, were able to buy a house, nice car, and support a family without worrying about any financial hardships, you think it would be _easier_ to quit? Yes. If he was being paid $250K/yr, that means he did a great job while he was there. It would not be that difficult for him to return to finance. I've quit my job a couple times to travel and when I returned to the workforce my new position paid more than I made previously...
- brown9-2 15y agoDon't forget about the time period - 2006.
- frankdenbow 15y agoProps for measuring success on metrics other than how much money you are making
- Iv 15y agoProps for that but I am not sure that replacing the money metrics by the buzz metrics is the way to go.
- frankdenbow 15y agoTrue, although I dont think buzz metrics is what we are talking about in this case.
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- Maro 15y agoThis thread is freaking me out =) So you start a company and you're not supposed to care about money nor buzz? So how do you measure success? The answer for a for-profit company must ultimately be money.
- Iv 15y agoIt is about the success of an individual, not about the success of a company. The success of a company, IMHO (and in the not so humble opinion of M. Ford) has three components : the bottom line, the reputation and the employees. So yes, buzz and money are on the top 3.
- Nemisis7654 15y agoAs a young man still in college who wants to build something, this was very inspiring. Especially this line: The only way to know how good you might be at something is to fail trying it. Great post. I'm bookmarking it.
- Casc 15y agoHis blog also has a great road map for learning to code/build your first web app if you're a non-CS major. Helped me out quite a bit.
- knieveltech 15y agoIt is worth keeping in mind that pithy little catch phrases like this typically ignore the fact that failure can come with some life-altering consequences. It seems like nobody wants to talk about filing for bankruptcy after running up a quarter of a mil in combined school loans and credit card debt.
- a3camero 15y agoIt's also worth keeping in mind that he was making $250k a year doing something shortly after school and then started this company. Presumably he has a lot more of something or rather than the average (or even above average) person. His story is an extreme outlier.
- zmitri 15y agoIt seems to me like he is replacing money with "status." Building something on your own, and wanting to tell a room full of people about building something are completely different.
- frankdenbow 15y agoFrom what I know of Vin, this isn't the ethos of his thinking at all.
- narenl 15y agoI second that. I do not know him personally but I've spoken to him at a Product meetup in NYC and came away impressed by his level-headedness, tenacity and willingness to share what he had learnt the hard way. I've been following his blog since then.
- zmitri 15y agoI was commenting on the tone of the article. That's how the article reads.
- UncleOxidant 15y agoDoing the opposite now. Spent the last year in a very early stage startup. Finally got fed up with the low pay ("but we're giving you equity...") and the lack of direction. It seemed like every other week we had a new direction. And the latest new direction was so bizarre that I'm tempted to make a mockumentary about the whole thing. Finally had enough of the startup scene; I'm going to go to work for a very large semiconductor company getting paid 2.5x what I was making at the startup. Feels like I'm getting a real adult job again. tl;dr: I learned that not every statup idea is worthwhile.
- johnrob 15y agoYou sound just like someone from 2001. No matter how much we try to rationalize and/or avoid it, the industry keeps going through the same cycles.
- agotterer 15y agoStartups aren't for everyone and not all startups are created equal. It would be unfair to assume all startups are misdirected and low paying. There are plenty of positions that pay market rate salaries and give equity. While you can definitely make a greater base salary at a semiconductor company or "adult" job. You miss out of the potential upside of startup equity, the excitement of a growing startup, wearing many different hats and trying to build something disruptive.
- UncleOxidant 15y ago> Startups aren't for everyone and not all startups are created equal. It would be unfair to assume all startups are misdirected and low paying. True. Didn't mean to imply that. This particular one was misdirected and low-paying. > You miss out of the potential upside of startup equity How many startups actually make it to the point where the equity is worth something? I'm guessing it's under 5% of them (even in good times). So at some point you need to make the calculation as to whether the equity that you're trading pay for is going to be worth anything. In my case I determined that it would never be worth anything.
- iqster 15y agoPretty motivational stuff! Props!! 1) As an aside, he says his job was Private Equity Investor. Does that mean we worked for a hedge fund? 2) How does one get hired as a PEI right out of college? I'm just curious what skill set is required. What do they do exactly?
- pitdesi 15y ago1) Private Equity is different from hedge funds... PE is investing rich people and institutional money in private companies, Hedge funds invest mostly in public stocks, though recently there has been a lot of alternative investments in this sector too... They "hedge" the market by having a mix of shorts and longs. PE and HF are very different, though related. 2) It's pretty hard... typically you go to banking for 2 years and then get to Private Equity via a headhunter (there are plenty that specialize in this exact thing)
- namityadav 15y agoPrivate Equity is an asset class focusing on equity in non-public companies. Technically, even Venture Capital is a part of PE. But people have started using the term PE for investing in mid to late stage companies, and the term VC for investing in early stage companies. In other words, PE invests in growth, makes leveraged buyouts or buys distressed assets. Recently VCs are also getting into the growth stage, making the distinction between PE and VC difficult. A lot of MBA students in top business schools dream of getting into PE firms after MBA. But only those who have some finance background (Investment Banking, for example) have a realistic shot of getting in.
- pitdesi 15y agoRelated, but very different: Reasons to leave the corporate world to join a startup (and why you should consider it too) http://feefighters.com/blog/5-reasons-to-leave-the-corporate-world-and-join-a-startup/ http://feefighters.com/blog/5-reasons-to-leave-the-corporate...
- inmygarage 15y agoThe Quadrangle Conference that he references was called the "FourSquare conference". Coincidence?
- almightygod 15y agoyipit, really? Yet another "Daily Deal" site is what the conf considered most likely to succeed?
- kshiiba 15y agothey aren't just another "daily deal site"--they're trying to own the space. also, from what I hear, their yipit data product (data and analytics on the daily deal space) has already experienced good traction from hedge funds and others interested in this growing space.
- mtogo 15y agoAren't both groupon and livingsocial trying to "own the space"?
- kshiiba 15y agosorry, I meant that as daily deal sites keep popping up, it's much easier to use an aggregator than to browse individual sites. I assume they're trying to be a layer upon the daily deal space, not just a singular deal provider.
- kpennell 15y agoDealmap was just acquired by google, seems like there's something to these aggregators...
- frankdenbow 15y agoYipit is an aggregator, so they actually arent a daily deal site in the traditional sense. Since the space keeps growing and more sites pop up, Yipit becomes increasingly more useful to consumers (in finding deals) and to the providers (they have a data product)
- honza 15y agotl;dr - I quit my job because I want to make the next Facebook.
- swah 15y agoIs he an HNer?
- nandemo 15y agoI'm pretty sure he is, I remember his name.
- JoeBracken 15y agoQuitting to start a tech company is much easier when you have had 3 years of banking $250k per year. It reduces the risk and stress of possibly eating ramen daily. Also investors love when entrepreneurs are willing to invest some of their own money into a concept. More people on HN, in my opinion, would quit today if they had enough money in a war chest to survive for year or more.
- dmmalam 15y agoSimilar position here! Spent 4 years working as a programmer for a few faceless corps. While some of that was pretty interesting (wrote a quant investing engine from scratch) the politics eventually took its toll. So I spent the whole of last year travelling, came back refreshed and am now in the middle of a startup with two other college friends. If anyone else is in a similar position I wholeheartedly recommend both ( the travelling and/or the startup)
- idlewords 15y agoPrivileged person decides to try hand at entrepreneurship, congratulates self for courage. Reading these is the textual equivalent of watching someone jerk off.
- jjtheblunt 15y agoagreed, sadly.
- kevinskii 15y agoA person who spends his childhood as a poor immigrant and then goes on to achieve considerable financial success through hard work and merit is "accomplished," not "privileged." That he would be willing to risk everything on a startup is indeed courageous.
- acangiano 15y agoIt's such a sad spectacle to see petty jealousy (or at least lack of empathy) by commenters here. As someone who grew up in a poor family and is now an immigrant, I can confirm that anything you achieve is earned and accomplished. There is no privilege, just because one manages to make 6 figures a year through hard work. OP has balls, big ones, to give up such a good job to try his hand at a startup.
- ca136 15y agoAs other people have mentioned, it's a lot easier to try a startup when you've had a chance to save money from a $250,000 salary. Plus, you have the experience working for a big PE firm so you know you can always find another great job. I love hearing these stories, but his 'risk' wasn't really as great as someone who quits an $80,000 job with $10,000 in savings. I know that story too well :)
- tzuptzup 15y agoIndeed, but still, you gotta give him some credit. Not sure that I would take a shot at entrepreneurship given a comfy six figure salary.
- conradboyle 15y agoGreat story. Takes guts. Inspirational for someone in tech finance.
- jjtheblunt 15y agoOne observation: the slight against Warren Buffett is unmerited and undeserved. He is at least as good an example as this person of not living lavishly even with adequate money to do so.
- jhen095 15y agoMy interpretation of this "slight" is that Warren Buffett uses money as a measure of success. It does not imply any sort of lifestyle just that he strives to be more successful and that means having more dollars. After having read a biography on Mr. Buffett I agree with OP on this and disagree that it is "unmerited and undeserved"
- astrec 15y agoOf course he uses money as a measure of success, he's an investor! Buffet did an interview on CNBC some years ago where the question where he was asked about success and his reply was something to effect of "Success doing what you love and doing it well". This rings true to me. A little anecdote told by my father in law, who was Buffett's pilot for a time, tells of Buffett being welcomed home to Omaha by a hostess. On remarking that he'd lived in the same house for 50 years it's claimed she said "Gee! You must have a lot of equity in that house Mr. Buffett." Whether this speaks to the unpretentiousness of Warren Buffett or the unworldliness of the hostess is an exercise for the reader.
- pyoung 15y agoI totally agree. Buffett is extremely frugal and philanthropic. I think he is driven more by the thrill of business and deal making, rather than the pursuit of money.
- lclaude01 15y agoI have been drinking HN's kool-aid way too long.../// don't be anyone bitch ! (quote by F. Wilson)