By "no safety net" do you mean no savings? That's how I read it at first. In which case, run, don't walk, away from the startup until you have some in the bank.

By "no safety net" do you mean no savings? That's how I read it at first. In which case, run, don't walk, away from the startup until you have some in the bank. BTW, our "startup" is earning money after the first month we shipped. We made $1500 on the first round of 30 day trials. (Now we're up to about $2000, as we're rolling towards 60 days - and thus another wave of charges - but not there yet.) That's not enough to live on, but you can make money right out of the gate if you: 1. Solve a real business problem. 2. Solve a REAL business PROBLEM. That doesn't mean inventing some new tech thing and then looking for a problem it can theoretically be applied to, & expecting people to eat it up like pigs eat slop. 3. Solve a real BUSINESS problem. If it adds actual bottom-line value, people will pay for it. And if you're not doing a service people will pay for, you're going to be freaked out until those savings are gone, because your only option will be a buy-out. EDIT: I have grander plans too beyond this first money-making service, but I do care about it itself, as well. I don't recommend doing something you're going to come to despise to pay the bills. Might as well have a job, at that point.