

Would you leave a 6 figure job to start a company? - mindsetlabs

I've seen some very good articles and interviews on this topic, one recently by a Y Combinator alumni Jessica Mah http://jessicamah.com/blog/?p=1181&#38;utm_source=feedburner&#38;utm_medium=feed&#38;utm_campaign=Feed:+jessicamah/nksB+(Jessica+Mah+Meets+World)<p>would you?
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ardit33
I am not sure why Jessica's post is in this discussion. She is pretty young,
and I am not sure she has had a real job + startup experience to say what she
is saying. While I agree that to do build a successful startup, that has to be
your number one focus, and having a job will be really distracting. But, you
can do some prototyping/idea vetting, while you are working full time, and
quit only when you think you have something substantial, and already have a
solid plan.

If you are in a dilema, go ahead ad do it. The real question if, if you are in
your 20s or 30s, and don't have a mortgage/kids or a green card application
going on, why are you working on a big corp?

1\. Save money, have at least one year to two years of savings.

2\. Leave your job in good terms. Tell your manager and co-workers "I taking a
break from corporate world this year, doing some traveling, and some little
project. I hope I will see you guys again in the future, and would love to
work again."

3\. Start your startup.

4\. In one year, here are your options:

    
    
       a) Startup went well, 
    
       b) Startup failed, you wasted 30-40k (no biggie):
          a.1) Tell your company / ex managers you would want to work there again. If you left with a good terms, you should be able to come in.
          a.2) Find a job somewhere else, and show your product (A lot of companies like people that can show a finished product, even though it wasn't commercially successful.
    
    

In one year, you will learn a lot more, and be a lot more marketable to other
companies, (if you have something decent to show). The only risk your are
taking is 30-40k (depending on how low your living expenses are), + whatever
your are missing as a salary. Keep in mind, that if you can sawllow a lot of
risk, you should totally do it. Once you get married with kids, it will be
really really hard to do it (almost impossible).

My point is: if you are 1) really good at building products from scratch. 2)
You can take risks/have a low risk profile 3) Have at least 40-60k saved. Why
in the heck are you NOT trying to start something, or join something. Big corp
job will always be there (if you are good, off course).

\----

Ps1. Do quit a job, and build another stupid niche thing (you see many
'startups' that are just building a feature, and not a bussines). You can use
the time at your company to test the market, verify your product-idea (or even
build a prototype), before quitting.

PS2. If you don't have at least 50-70k savings after 5 years of working as an
engineer, you really should look at your spending habits. Start saving now.

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andrewtbham
so i looked at your profile... you work at amazon on the kindle? and you're
planning to quit and work on <http://www.storyfun.com> in 20 days? that's
cool. i think the main thing is.. you got to really believe in your product to
risk the 40-60k

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staunch
No absolutely do not leave your six figure(!) job to do a startup. Your
startup might fail and where will that leave you? Don't do it. Hang on to that
job, get promoted, and increase your salary. Save your money very carefully
and retire happy and well off in 30-40 years.

You can always work on your startup in your off hours. That way you can still
keep the dream alive, yet safely in the realm of a hobby. Just make sure you
never risk a lot on it, because you'll probably fail.

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nmaio
I tend to disagree with what you said. If you have a lot to risk, want to risk
a lot, and CAN handle risking a lot - do it.

It's all about the person in my eyes. I like the movie Rounders, so why not a
little quote for everyone: "...if you're too careful, you're whole life can
become a fucking grind..."

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tptacek
And, much like in the startup world: the protagonist goes through hell, nearly
loses everything, and then pulls off an amazing feat of skill and luck, only
to wind up essentially where he was at the beginning of the story.

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unshift
but at least he's not bored out of his fucking skull the entire time

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coffeenut
Yes, I just left a 6 figure income in July to do just that :)

I don't think the decision has anything to do with your income. If one isn't
willing to risk a small part of their life without that safety blanket of a
steady paycheck, they're probobably not cut out to be an entrepreneur. And if
one is cut out to be an entrepreneur, no paycheck working for someone else
will ever be sufficient.

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mindsetlabs
Good point. congrats to you!

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jefflinwood
Yes - and I have now for the past year, though it was a little different.

My advice is to find something you can do when you start your company that
will make the year off worthwhile even if you get $0 in revenue - I've taught
myself web design, iPhone programming, Facebook app development, Drupal,
content organization, etc.

I also finished the 2nd Edition of Beginning Hibernate 3 for Apress, got
engaged, and ran 15 marathons or ultramarathons in 2010, so even if this
startup turns south, I'm really happy with the way the year is going.

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roachsocal
Yes I would, I have, and I will.

I always think back to Jeff Bezos's philosophy, which he calls the "Regret
Minimization Framework" (see [http://bijansabet.com/post/147533511/jeff-bezos-
regret-minim...](http://bijansabet.com/post/147533511/jeff-bezos-regret-
minimization-framework)). He basically advises projecting forward to when
you're 80 years old. Ask yourself if at that time, would you regret X? This
helps you frame your decisions with more of a long term view of your world.
Helps you forget about some of the smaller stuff (like financial security).

Also in most cases, you can always go back to your cushy job if needed.

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ninjastar99
I left a six figure job voluntarily to do my own thing. Before I left, I was
working late nights, sometimes until 2 or 3am. I liked the job, but was
unfulfilled. Fast forward three years, and I am now on my own in a successful
startup that I own. I'm making about the same amount in income. And I
sometimes stay up just as late at night working. So why leave, you ask?
Freedom. I make my own hours. I work for myself. When I win, I win for ME.
When I lose a deal, I lose for ME. My passion has increased one hundred fold,
and I sleep soundly at night knowing that I am in control of my own destiny.

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ashitvora
Sorry but I have to disagree with many of the points Jessica pointed out.

Regarding consulting, How would you pay your bills when your company is not
profitable. I mean, see Twitter. Their valuation is way high but they don’t
make money. So the only option to pay your bills and rent is to do consulting
on the side or VC money (which I personally don’t believe in).

During school you have time to network, take advice from your professors (many
of them are entrepreneurs themselves), and you have enough time to learn if
your idea will work or not. I don’t say you will have tons of time to build a
facebook while in school but you can build a prototype (version 0.1) and see
if that will work.

I really like this idea “Join an early stage accelerator program like
YCombinator or TechStars” because here you meet people who are also in the
same state of mind as you are. You meet good mentors (probably best in
industry). You get enough money to rent apartment. These programs are best for
fresh college graduates. Try for 6 months. If it works, it excellent. if it
doesn’t, no big deal. You learned something.

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shafqat
I did. I was fairly senior at Merill Lynch, and left a cushy job, bogus corp
title and well over six figures to start NewsCred. Have never looked back.
Apart from marrying my wife, it was the best decision i've ever made in my
life. Oh yeah, I was scared shitless. Just do it!

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serverdude
Yes - I already did once (do not regret it one bit) and would probably do it
again! I would like to know when I am old that I did at least try to create
something of my own!:)

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mindsetlabs
and you never want to look back and say I should-a could-a would-a right?

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serverdude
Nopes - even though the company I left (Netflix) is rocking now :)

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jaddison
Are you happy with your current job? If not, do you think moving to another
6-figure job would keep you happy for an extended period of time?

If the money isn't making you happy anymore, then consider pushing on to
something more challenging as that is likely what you need in your life.

Of course, only you can introspect to find the answers you need.

I left a reasonable 5-figure job to work for myself and still consider the
startup route as well.

~~~
mindsetlabs
Its not necessarily If I'm happy with my job but that burning desire to start
a company doesn't go away. I just wonder if there are other sane people that
would make that leap. :) To be an entrepreneur you face that decision at some
point if you currently have a high paying job, I think its a good point that
Jessica makes in her post that you can't really start a startup unless you
focus on it. It can't really be that side thing...

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skowmunk
If its such a burning desire, then you owe it yourself to quench it by trying
it at least once (but definitely not half-hearted).

All you need to do is make sure that you have some savings for the family to
survive and some more, if it doesn't work out and you need to get back on the
job track.

Moreover, if you give it serious shot, give it all you got (obviously refering
to non-financial stuff) and it still doesn't work out, all that learning could
possibly even bump you to the 7 figure category later.

Good luck.

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timmy_k
To begin, I've never had a 6 figure job.

That being said: everything valuable in life comes at a great cost. Absolutely
everything costs something. 6 figures should about cover that "great" cost.

Ask: what are you living for? To sustain or to see a world you've never seen
before? If the latter is the case, start your company and never look back

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hackoder
Wouldn't you be more comfortable leaving a 6 figure job? This way, you'd have
more savings, and the knowledge that if you've done it before (earned a 6
figure salary), you can do it again. I think someone who earns just enough
(perhaps around 70-80 k) would be least likely to leave.

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Mz
I'm pretty risk averse and I would find it hard to leave a big salary like
that to do something real risky. Fortunately for me, I don't make anywhere
near that much and probably never will...unless I make it as an entrepreneur.

    
    
      Some things to think about:
      1) Are you really sure your job is secure and recession-proof?
      2) Are you really sure your company is secure and recession-proof?
      3) Starting your own company is one of the surest ways to get rich.
    

If I were in your shoes and asking myself such a question, I would take a good
hard look at the company I was working for and the current economy and all
that and wonder if maybe my urge to chuck it all and do something "riskier"
was really a reaction to a subconscious feeling that maybe my position isn't
anywhere near as secure as I superficially believe it to be.

I'm risk-averse/security-seeking but I hope to make it as an entrepreneur
because I basically agree with sentiments (mis)attributed to Benjamin Franklin
to the effect that the only real security is rooted in freedom.

HTH and good luck with your decision.

