This is a good point. There's no sense in thinking yourself out of a startup, but at the same time it's likely something crappy will happen while running a startup.
You may want to go to a cushy job at that point in time, but you need to be able to at least be comfortable enough to say "No, I'm going to do this."
If you're terrified of a crappy situation it's a good gut call for yourself to figure out if you're cut out for being a founder or not.
I'm sorry man. I was forced out of my first startup last year. It was very traumatic. It's so obvious what you should have done in hindsight but that doesn't help. I wish you the best if luck in the future.
I've thought about it a few times, but there are too many people that would take offense, even if I changed names and details, that I might still need to go work with. The longer I'm out of that industry and running my own startup, the more I think about doing it though.
If it's a past startup, yeah. If you're saying "I'll still be working on my startup while I'm working for your company", that's not a great idea. Effectively you're saying "I'll leave as soon as I can".
I've been the latter type in the early stage of a startup, and even though I strongly believe in my more cautious approach to programming, in general, in hindsight I feel that I should've abandoned that caution or that they would've been better of with another programmer.
Thankfully I'm pretty sure the startup would've failed no matter what, so I don't feel too guilty about it. But it taught me a valuable lesson.
Yeah, I do feel for you. But I wouldn't consider this a mistake. I mean what if the startup you worked had become big.
Its easy to say in hindsight. Like they say in stocks - "You are always wise, the next day"
I second that. You regret the things you DON'T do more than the things you do. In 10-20 years' time you might get bitter wondering what could have been, and seeing another company succeed with "your idea".
It also sounds like you can afford to make this bet. You are young, good savings, tech skills, and I'm assuming "asset light" life (no family or lots of bills weighing you down). If the startup fails you can get back to corporate life after a few years, which startup life experience under the belt.
Another answer said that you should love the market you're in. I agree. You'll live and breathe this market for 7-10 years, so you better love it.
That being said, most startups fail. You have to be fine with the fact that you might lose your savings and those years of your life. And if it does, fine, it's an investment that didn't pan out.
What I did when we made the jump (8 years ago) was set aside a pile of money and a 1-year window to see if the company floated. If the time or money ended before we saw paying customers and some small traction, we'd stop. It all worked out fine but we were very lucky.
Before you go public, or selling for that matter, make sure your startup is not your life's work. My first project was one I worked on since I was 16 and sold it when I was 24. Granted, it wasn't a startup but a software product, it was to me a combination of high school, college and graduate school. When I sold it and signed the ridiculous non-compete papers, I had NOTHING else to work on. Even the much taunted liberal arts PhDs get to keep their titles; I kept nothing. (sure, I was happy to sell it by then, because I was burned out, but it might have been better to delay the negotiations until I was in a better emotional and financial state and was optimistic about the future.)
I know this is tangential to the topic at hand, but had to air my grievances to warn someone else who might be tying their startups with their personal identities.
I've been at a startup where this was the case, but they didn't start over, and it was a disaster that, at least partially, was the cause of the failure of the company. Props to you for making the difficult, but correct, choice.
:) I agree if its your own startup it probably demands as much attention as your personal life infact there is no demarcation. I by nature never had that demarcation even when I worked for others.
But you know when somethings go real bad, like in the above post or even in my own case, with mental states, emotions and relationships because of this work stress you would regret. So this is just a reminder to be on the back of the mind.
Yes. This is the reality in many startups. I should probably have refused to work on this project and suggested some other task; that's what my colleague did; he only worked on the front end part. I took a risk, I misjudged the tool and failed.
I wasn't even upset (I got a decent severance), I'd been let go over far more trivial things when I was a junior years ago... Like when the boss fired me the first monday after he met my girlfriend at the office christmas party because he thought she was out of my league. That's why I don't bring her (now wife) to any office events nowadays.
I have been in similar situations, where I could see that the direction was willing to go was against my personal values and would also put the startup into even more risk.
What I asked myself in these cases: what if I am right? Do I want to stick around for voting rights / equity later of a corporation that is worth nothing in a year? Why waste more time in a team and on a product I no longer believe in.
I think that every first-timer's company is personal. Even if you're working on a problem that you don't experience, it's hard not to see your company as an extension of you. After all, you've put hour of your life into it.
Eventually, through the roller coaster of the startup life, you begin to learn how to separate yourself from the your company.
I agree. As long as you can afford to. But even when you think you can't afford to, you're probably better off firing the client that gives you to much trouble.
As for having a startup with investors, if the fun isn't there anymore you always have the option of walking away.
Walking away isn't for everyone, though. Getting to the point where it's an option in your arsenal, having the confidence and experience of knowing you'll find something else to make a living by yourself is what separate entrepreneurs and employees.
If it's your own startup then sure, otherwise "hell no". ;)
reply