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In this thread, we've been led from 500K/yr to 50K/yr to 20k/yr (5k for 3 months) and now back to 50K. I think most everybody has loans, credit card debt, and
by vlad 19y ago
In this thread, we've been led from 500K/yr to 50K/yr to 20k/yr (5k for 3 months) and now back to 50K. I think most everybody has loans, credit card debt, and a mortgage. But if you're sufficiently young enough and want to have a startup in the next 5 years, don't get a mortgage, get a normal job to pay off the student loans and credit card debt, and save up some money.
I seriously doubt pg actually expects people to do YCombinator with $0 saved up and tons of debt and live on 5k for 3 months. Or worse, with an illness or surgery that needs to be done. Get all that out of the way, pay off your loans and credit card debt, and save up some money by working corporate. Plus you'll have experience, good references, friends, and maybe good contacts from working at a company.
I used to think I was old when I turned 21 and 22, but if you're 25 or 30 when you start a startup, that's fine! But before you work at corporate, make sure you do your own startup with customers and everything in college so when you're hired, you're respected and management wants to hear what you're saying, rather than HR placing you in a "trainee" program like two high school acquintances my age will be at the same company for the next two years. That gives you credibility from your coworkers, experience leading your own project from your startups, and a degree you've been able to pay for. Maybe you could even get a Master's degree in Business or Computer Science that the company will pay for while you work.
This means you won't be a "millionnaire by the time you're age 25" like everybody our age who's heard of Bill Gates during the late 90's has wished for, but getting out of debt by the time you're in mid-twenties is the new "being a millionnaire", with the cost of everything these days.
- ivankirigin 19y agoI don't think they think it's enough, but it isn't really about the money. You get in the right mindset when you start asking yourself, "well, how little can I live on?" That is the right question to ask. People will made due -- not all the money needs to come from YC. Personal savings, credit cards, friends & family (both money and spare bedrooms), etc. make up the difference.
- mrtron 19y agoSpare bedroom can save a tremendous amount of money for you, and it isn't much of a sacrifice if you are a good guest. An underrated startup technique :)
- eru 19y agoNo sane German would ever dream about living on credit cards. But perhaps that's just because nobody uses credit cards here anyway.
- eru 19y agoI guess the equivalent is to overdraw your checking account. The interest you have to pay for that matches credit cards.
- hooande 19y ago"millionaire by the time you're age 25" ? Is that what the kids are aiming for these days? Back when I was in high school the goal was "millionaire by the time you're age 30". Oh how times change.