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i'd thought about adding something about this but decided it's worth a full post. i don't think you need very much of a cushion--i.e., 6 months of living expen
by sama 12y ago
i'd thought about adding something about this but decided it's worth a full post.
i don't think you need very much of a cushion--i.e., 6 months of living expenses saved up is more than most founders have. but saving up a bit of money before starting a startup is definitely a great thing to do, and if you're an engineer willing to live cheaply, shouldn't take very long.
that said, startups are not the way to optimize for financial stability and not the right choice for everyone. if i had little money saved up and a family that depended on me, i'd choose being an engineer at a big company instead of starting a company until i felt i had some safety net in place.
- hugs 12y agoPlease write a post about financial security as a pre-req to doing a startup. I advise having at least a year's worth of living expenses saved. Because you don't want to be worried at all in the beginning about how you're going to pay your bills. You're going to start worrying when that money is half gone, and it sometimes takes more than 3 months to get traction. I think many founders pursue funding too soon (and thus give up too much equity to VCs much too soon) because they didn't have enough savings at the start. I would expect VCs to disagree with me about that because it's in their interest to do so. :)
- _abattoir 12y ago"VC here. We have always been at war with Eurasia."