4 ms·
The opportunity cost is a big deal, and will gnaw at you the longer you're bootstrapping (+ consulting, which is typical) without making up the difference with
by ilamont 5y ago
The opportunity cost is a big deal, and will gnaw at you the longer you're bootstrapping (+ consulting, which is typical) without making up the difference with sale of the company or an even bigger salary.
- dangero 5y agoThis is true for all startup founders even if not bootstrapping because startup founders are generally advised to take tiny salaries in exchange for long term equity. Even if not bootstrapping, they are bootstrapping by supplementing their personal life with savings or trading off on quality of life (no travel vacations etc). As tech salaries have ballooned in the last few years, the opportunity cost has gone out of whack -- if you go read message boards of what people are making at FAANGs, the odds are stacked against the startup founder / bootstrapper living on ramen for 5 years because the FAANG salary makes millionaires with 100% probability. For any 5 year startup to make up for that it most likely needs to exit at 30M or greater which puts the founder in top 2% territory.