
Ask HN: Covid Burnout – Quit FAANG to found a startup? - throwaway8829
I&#x27;ve worked at FAANG for 4 years as product designer. I was getting a bit burned out, but COVID wfh took all the remaining fun out of my work. I feel like I can&#x27;t spend another day on Zoom calls in my role.<p>Should I quit my FAANG job to try and start a startup? Part of me thinks that it&#x27;ll be fun and motivating. The other part thinks the grass is just greener, especially since I have no idea what I want to start.<p>Feeling a bit lost. Anyone else in this position?
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cloudking
Surprised most of the comments here are risk adverse, you won't know if you
don't take the risk. If you do decide to quit, plan out how long you can
survive off your savings and give yourself a chunk of that time to get a
business running that sustains you. If you don't make it in that time, you can
get back into the workforce or freelance with your experience.

Having an idea helps, but be wary of working on ideas on the side, you likely
have signed an invention assignment agreement with your employer.

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treis
I think the issue is how it's phrased. OP said, effectively, I don't like my
job, should I do a start up? Which is a terrible starting point for a
business. If they said something like "I've got this great idea" then people
would tell them to go for it.

There's this weird idea out there that Start Up is a job or company in itself.
But it's not. Sure, companies will pivot and opportunities can come out of
seemingly nowhere. That doesn't mean you just start something without a
reasonable belief that it will work.

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yellow_lead
Quitting without a complete idea of what you'll do is typically a poor idea.
Many recommend taking a stab on nights and weekends first at least. You could
use some PTO to simulate it too.

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ultrasounder
Not from FAANG, but based in the Bay Area and been working at Tier2/3
companies for a few years now. Initially was going to pivot to
LC->FAANGMULATAD. Even had Google remote interview setup. That was BC(Before
COVID). AC(After Covid), I dropped it like its hot to focus on personal
development and clear my mind. And now that I am clear on what I really want
with my life, I am doing some Idea validation/ Invalidation in my spare
time(WFH). I am not 100% WFH due to work constraints but certain days of the
week I get the entire day to myself. So working and refining my idea and
learning Laravel/Alpine/Tailwind/Livewire to launch my MVP. BUT, I know the
MVP is at least 6 months away involving days of customer development. I am not
even talking about launching a moonshot, but a B2B SAAS that I can start
selling from day one. Scratching your own itch, IMHO is a bad idea. You need
to solve someone else's need or want. The only way to do that if You are in
FAANG is befriend someone , an outsider who is exposed to other non-faang
problems. Do You want something in B2C, then ask around and see what
consistent problems your friends have? If You want to do B2B, then look in
Your LinkedIn circle and find out people in Your network who are non-faang and
see what task could be automated for them, saving them time and getting them a
raise. Or you could try and run a FB Ad campaign(there was a thread on that a
few weeks ago), where a FB PM ran Ads to validate his Virtual Workout idea.
Again its Your idea and not guaranteed to get traction. Lastly, don't quit
Your day job to start something. Again, if You go through the idea
generation/validation process as an "Indiehacker", takes months. Better be
prepared for a lot of "busy" days of absolutely doing nothing in the initial
phases while You hit PMF(Product Market Fit) and having a job provides that
launchpad and motivation. Feel free to email me at vsap78 at gmail email
service.

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RemingtonLak
I was in your exact position including having worked at a FAANG last Oct. In
Silicon Valley still, I quit before the pandemic to be a fulltime dad to a
newborn, thinking after about a yr I can go back and find something. ack. then
the pandemic hit. Now...I'm contemplating your _exact_ situation of starting
something.

I have too many ideas, all great, but seem to lack focus and motivation
although running out of money should be enough....but aint?

I guess "startup" isn't what I'm after per se but more of some simple very
vertical SaaS I could code up myself like time sheets, scheduling, proj mgmt,
journaling etc.. why? I can't deal with deal people/employees at the moment
for many obvious reasons. I should be able to create something where I could
launch and maintain myself.

I'm looking for something that is.. 1\. minimal administration w/o needing a
physical location 2\. self servicing platform where content is user generated
3\. fee based, no ads

I'm trying to get motivated by watching these adventurous people:
[https://www.indiehackers.com/businesses](https://www.indiehackers.com/businesses)

Time is of the essences so I need to get moving on it. however, hard when I
only have a 1-2hr window max a day after 10pm provided he sleeps through the
night :(

My current and possibly _the_ idea I may implement: A private social network,
necessity is mother of all inventions. I'm need a way to share my kid with
extended family that isn't IG/FB/Whatsapp etc.. I want something more closed,
personal, grandmother tested and very private. The common denominator is it
needs to work on very under powered tablets running Android 4.0.

Writing up a mini bizplan then wireframe then proto it as a PWA. No one these
days uses a PC.

Hit me up for mutual motivation? lakota @ gmail

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davidajackson
I would test the market for your idea. Can you get people to pay for it? How
many, and how many $ per customer, and how quickly? And not hypothetically,
actually try to get money coming in. Then focus on that if you think it will
simultaneously solve your burnout.

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icedchai
Startups are hard, even in good times. Take a year off.

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muzani
Starting a startup is sort of like having kids. It's a tremendous
responsibility, not something you should do because of burnout.

You don't actually have creative freedom. Your freedom is limited to what
makes money right away, or what pleases investors. If you meet an angel who
wants blockchain, you better get to work on that chain.

Maybe freelancing is the way to go, or working at a startup.

But if you want to start a startup because it's on your bucket list, then go
ahead. Make sure you have some runway. Recession is a great time to start
companies, because a lot of really smart people will be looking for jobs, and
you'll be contributing more to society by creating them.

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htanirs
Startups have their own way of creating burn out and since it takes a toll on
finances as well, the impact is much higher. It is not all fun and motivation.
Also there are non tech problems one need to solve in a startup.

IMO, avoiding burnout might not be a best motivator for starting up. Maybe
moving to a startup might help you decide along with reducing zoom calls
hopefully :). Also it gives time to think about what is that you want to
create.

Another option is to talk to friends who started up, to understand the
practical challenges.

My suggestion, take some time and decide. It is more about making an informed
decision. And when we are lost, sometimes we take decisions more on hope.

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throwaway8829
Some added context since I'm throwaway: I've been at Google for the past 4yrs.
I'm fortunate that I can join any other company I'd like. I have offers at
FAANG, mid level startups, and early startups.

I founded a startup before Google, so I know what it takes. I just don't
really know how to go from 0 to 1 right now. My mind is also muddled with
taking time off and thinking of an idea, or if I should just take time off and
come back to a new team at Google, or join a different company. But, I also
feel like I'm capable of building my own future with a startup.

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batt4good
Honestly, if timing had been different I would've waited six months longer to
take a five month hiatus prior to looking for work again.

I'm at a fantastic startup after leaving amazon and couldn't be happier about
what I'm working on or the people I work with.

However, if I was facing burn-out currently and had $10-20k in my emergency
fund I'd 100% just wait out covid for at least a year.

Leaving FAANG was the best thing I've done in the past 4 years, best of luck
recovering and re-charging from your burn-out my friend!

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ystad
Yes.

You need to distinguish between burnout and working at a dead end job (Sorry
to say FAANG are dead ends)

Take three months off, companies allow this. Once your burnout is reversed
after a month in, you will get your answer

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giantg2
I wouldn't quit without an idea or plan.

I've been working in a soul crushing job for the past 4 or 5 years. I feel
burnt out. Sometimes I get a brief respite when I switch to new project or
team, but I quickly become disillusioned as I realize the new team/project has
the same issues as the past ones. I just grit my teeth, hate my life from 8 to
4, and continue on.

I would only quit if you have a good plan or idea, or if a new job becomes
available.

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bonesbonesbones
I'm in the same position. WFH has sucked out nearly all of my energy to
contribute to my current company, and I would very much like to just focus on
my own side projects & startup ideas. Since my company went 100% remote, I'm
planning to move to someplace a bit more convenient, then hopefully split my
time between work and personal projects.

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logicslave
I would make sure you actually want to start a startup and arent just looking
for a way out from your boring day to day

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stanley-t
My suggestion is not to quit but to ask for a 3 months no-pay leave (LOA).
Firstly, take care of your body and mind by taking a break. Then take the time
to figure out what exactly you want to do including your startup ideas. Please
note that GOOG policy on LOA may restrict on what you can work on publicly.

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chris11
> I founded a startup before Google

You've got more personal experience with this than I do. But I would think
it's a bad idea on a personal level if COVID wfh is the main cause for your
burnout. I'd find founding a startup to be more isolating that working at a
company right now.

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tawjob
Please do not quit your job as things may become much worst and you might
regret, find a side hobby, read how people tackle wfh now a days through
submits here. Take some time off but not to long to build a different point of
view.

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natalyarostova
It'll be fun and motivating for a month or two, then the real work will set
in. Unless you are prepared for that, tread carefully.

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tawjob
Are you working for Amzn?

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tawjob
Knowing company helps people to give more accurate advice especially if they
know how things works over there for a specific role. Same problem in
different enviroment requires different solution imo.

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throwaway8829
At Google now, but have offers at 2 other FAANG's if I want to go there for a
level up.

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tawjob
Changing jobs are very refreshing depending on the company you will join.
Facebook has high peer review pressure now a days. I heard stories around
Amazon’s peer review system where people backstab and I do believe it will be
worst when people are working remotely. For Netflix people say miss or hit as
at the end of the year they will ask “should we raise your salary or let you
go”, depending on your team and manager you might not able to show your self.
I do believe Apple might be a good option as SwiftUI development might trigger
tons of new design tasks with less pressure due to tons of old iOS devices out
there. I hope people can comment with much better info then I have. You are
not alone, I do believe community will start to write tons of comments for
this type of questions more then the ones trying to find their next big thing.
The next big thing is human as it was before.

