4 ms·

Help me make the leap

3 points by dustingetz 17y ago

I'm 23 years old, no family. My living expenses including student debt is about 3k/month. I feel ready and competent to begin a startup, but I really don't have any idea how to transition from my salaried job, given bills, relocation, risk of failure and making sure I have a source of income in 6 months. If I wanted to get seed funding for early 2010, what steps should I be takking right now? I'm on the verge of committing to a few months of weekend prototyping but really want to feel like I Have direction before I stat sinking that kind of time. Can you direct me towards posts from people in my situation who made the leap?

byoung2 17y ago
My living expenses including student debt is about 3k/month Whether or not you're going the startup route, you want to keep your expenses as low as possible (ditch the car if you're making payments, crash with friends/relatives, learn to love ramen, etc). $3k/month seems high for a 23 year old with no family, unless you're already in Silicon Valley.
- nostrademons 17y ago
  $3K/month seems high even in Silicon Valley - mine are about $1.5-2K/month, and I live without a roommate in a nice apartment only a couple blocks from downtown Mountain View. I think I could get them under $1k/month by getting roommates, moving to Sunnyvale or Santa Clara, eating more rice & beans, not having bought a new car, etc.
tsally 17y ago
3K a month is going is chew through seed funding pretty quick. If most of that isn't student debt, you need to figure out a way to lower that number. If it is, you should probably get a job first so you can payoff a good chunk of your debt. A happy medium for now would be to get a job and work on a side project. After you have your expenses down, take that side project and try to get funding.
ScottWhigham 17y ago
Just saw this - you might appreciate: http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/09/20/from-nothing-to-something-how-to-get-there/ http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/09/20/from-nothing-to-somethi... "This is the first post in what’s going to be a series of blogs on how to go from nothing - no connections, no team, no money and no knowledge of how the startup industry really works - to operating a growing business." I've barely read it but I had just left your post and had you in mind. Good luck

3 points by dustingetz 17y ago

byoung2 17y ago

My living expenses including student debt is about 3k/month Whether or not you're going the startup route, you want to keep your expenses as low as possible (ditch the car if you're making payments, crash with friends/relatives, learn to love ramen, etc). $3k/month seems high for a 23 year old with no family, unless you're already in Silicon Valley.

nostrademons 17y ago
$3K/month seems high even in Silicon Valley - mine are about $1.5-2K/month, and I live without a roommate in a nice apartment only a couple blocks from downtown Mountain View. I think I could get them under $1k/month by getting roommates, moving to Sunnyvale or Santa Clara, eating more rice & beans, not having bought a new car, etc.

tsally 17y ago

3K a month is going is chew through seed funding pretty quick. If most of that isn't student debt, you need to figure out a way to lower that number. If it is, you should probably get a job first so you can payoff a good chunk of your debt. A happy medium for now would be to get a job and work on a side project. After you have your expenses down, take that side project and try to get funding.

ScottWhigham 17y ago

Just saw this - you might appreciate: http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/09/20/from-nothing-to-something-how-to-get-there/ http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/09/20/from-nothing-to-somethi... "This is the first post in what’s going to be a series of blogs on how to go from nothing - no connections, no team, no money and no knowledge of how the startup industry really works - to operating a growing business." I've barely read it but I had just left your post and had you in mind. Good luck