5 ms·

To me, $80k sounds like a very small amount of "F-You" money. I'm not criticizing the OP at all, but if I quit my job with 80k in the bank, I would immediately

To me, $80k sounds like a very small amount of "F-You" money. I'm not criticizing the OP at all, but if I quit my job with 80k in the bank, I would immediately start researching the most painful B2B problem I could solve quickly using AI. Not to generate an income stream, but to build an asset (the business) to sell. That's the quickest path to $1M. Software developers are too caught up on salary (or 73 different "income streams" that all make $0), and rarely think about building a valuable business.

ghaff 2y ago
I dunno. That seems a pretty quick path to a 74th income stream that makes $0. Especially at the moment, I'm not seeing a lot of money trees around. Not that I needed them, but when I semi-retired a number of possible revenue streams sort of evaporated--not that I looked too hard. But if you deliberately quit, that may be the thing to do. A more conservative person would probably counsel getting at least a part-time job that pays a salary though.
- turnsout 2y ago
  To be specific, I would quit the other 73 income streams and stop any extracurricular activities until I shipped something. Even though AI feels overhyped (it sort of is), we're still early in the game, and there's plenty of money to be made. Businesses still have a ton of time-consuming, expensive pain points. You just have to pick an industry and go talk to insiders to figure out what to build.
  - ghaff 2y ago
    I won't argue if I had a bunch of other activities consuming most of my bandwidth that weren't bringing in any money. If you really need cash though, I might consider lower risk, lower reward options on at least a part-time basis as well though. Doing a startup isn't exactly a high ROI activity in general--especially in a max-hype area.
    - turnsout 2y ago
      Very true—for a software developer, part-time consulting is probably the quickest path to making some money. It's a lower-risk, but much lower-leverage option than a 0-1 startup. Building a startup has a high risk of going to zero, but if you've chosen the right customer, the potential upside is dramatically higher than any other option.
  - FredPret 2y ago
    I’m in business technology consulting. You’re right about tons of pain points and opportunity. But the limiting factor is not AI or any kind of tech, it’s getting these businesses to trust you with fitting into their existing systems and giving you their time.
    - turnsout 2y ago
      100%. Another reason to start by talking to customers. The product has to be more than useful—it has to fit into their current workflow. Most B2B startups underinvest in sales (which is not the same as sending 100,000 cold emails).
johann8384 2y ago
If you can just do that, then why are you not quitting your job and why don't you have $800k in the bank? It's easy, just build a million dollar asset and sell it. Pssh, I am on my third one this week.
- turnsout 2y ago
  Something can be both conceptually simple yet difficult to execute. (The key to losing weight is "just" to eat less and exercise, piano is "just a bunch of keys," etc) Personally I have a mortgage and a family, so I'm not eager to burn through savings to build a company 0-1, but if I had to, I described exactly what I would do.
  - ptsneves 2y ago
    Hehehe, you just described most normal people: a mortgage a family, cannot just wake up and say I am going all-in “this great idea”. Your idea is therefore only reachable for early age people or singles. I am trying to revive a project I believe strongly which is kind of ready to sale, but I cannot get a damn 4 hours to seat down and look at it without being interrupted by life’s chores or just being too tired Anyway I have similar fantasies to yours. It feels good to not be alone, both in circumstances as in fantasy.
    - turnsout 2y ago
      I've been there! I recently released an app that has been 99% ready for sale for a full year, and the only way I got it over the finish line was to wake up every morning at 5am to get an hour or two of work in before my kid wakes up. :) I'd love to do something bigger, but this will have to scratch that entrepreneurial itch for now!
      - ptsneves 2y ago
        You inspired me and I am starting a calendar where i track my commitment to it.
- 2y ago

ghaff 2y ago

I dunno. That seems a pretty quick path to a 74th income stream that makes $0. Especially at the moment, I'm not seeing a lot of money trees around. Not that I needed them, but when I semi-retired a number of possible revenue streams sort of evaporated--not that I looked too hard. But if you deliberately quit, that may be the thing to do. A more conservative person would probably counsel getting at least a part-time job that pays a salary though.

turnsout 2y ago
To be specific, I would quit the other 73 income streams and stop any extracurricular activities until I shipped something. Even though AI feels overhyped (it sort of is), we're still early in the game, and there's plenty of money to be made. Businesses still have a ton of time-consuming, expensive pain points. You just have to pick an industry and go talk to insiders to figure out what to build.
- ghaff 2y ago
  I won't argue if I had a bunch of other activities consuming most of my bandwidth that weren't bringing in any money. If you really need cash though, I might consider lower risk, lower reward options on at least a part-time basis as well though. Doing a startup isn't exactly a high ROI activity in general--especially in a max-hype area.
  - turnsout 2y ago
    Very true—for a software developer, part-time consulting is probably the quickest path to making some money. It's a lower-risk, but much lower-leverage option than a 0-1 startup. Building a startup has a high risk of going to zero, but if you've chosen the right customer, the potential upside is dramatically higher than any other option.
- FredPret 2y ago
  I’m in business technology consulting. You’re right about tons of pain points and opportunity. But the limiting factor is not AI or any kind of tech, it’s getting these businesses to trust you with fitting into their existing systems and giving you their time.
  - turnsout 2y ago
    100%. Another reason to start by talking to customers. The product has to be more than useful—it has to fit into their current workflow. Most B2B startups underinvest in sales (which is not the same as sending 100,000 cold emails).

johann8384 2y ago

If you can just do that, then why are you not quitting your job and why don't you have $800k in the bank? It's easy, just build a million dollar asset and sell it. Pssh, I am on my third one this week.

turnsout 2y ago
Something can be both conceptually simple yet difficult to execute. (The key to losing weight is "just" to eat less and exercise, piano is "just a bunch of keys," etc) Personally I have a mortgage and a family, so I'm not eager to burn through savings to build a company 0-1, but if I had to, I described exactly what I would do.
- ptsneves 2y ago
  Hehehe, you just described most normal people: a mortgage a family, cannot just wake up and say I am going all-in “this great idea”. Your idea is therefore only reachable for early age people or singles. I am trying to revive a project I believe strongly which is kind of ready to sale, but I cannot get a damn 4 hours to seat down and look at it without being interrupted by life’s chores or just being too tired Anyway I have similar fantasies to yours. It feels good to not be alone, both in circumstances as in fantasy.
  - turnsout 2y ago
    I've been there! I recently released an app that has been 99% ready for sale for a full year, and the only way I got it over the finish line was to wake up every morning at 5am to get an hour or two of work in before my kid wakes up. :) I'd love to do something bigger, but this will have to scratch that entrepreneurial itch for now!
    - ptsneves 2y ago
      You inspired me and I am starting a calendar where i track my commitment to it.
2y ago