"I find it hard to work on something else while I am consulting"
No ####! Of course it's hard. Do you think I wanted to work 70-80 hour weeks or play with my 2 year old? I wanted to play of course but the long-term vision of creating lifetime security for my family over weighed the short-term work. Read PG's essay "Inequality and Risk" (http://www.paulgraham.com/inequality.html) for more.
I don't know YC's deal but can you tell me whether or not the term sheet they put in front of you is a good one? If you say, "I don't know" or "No" or if you haven't even thought that far, I'd say you are rushing into it. I would guess that, if you have the mindset of, "If I get funded I'll do it", it's gonna be hard to get funded.
Looking back, do you think sacrificing time with your kid was worth it for lifetime security? Like, do you guys have a good relationship now, or did all the work do any damage?
Just wondering -- I don't have kids yet, but I'd be worried that all that money/security may not be enjoyable if I hadn't built my relationships with my kids when they were young.
I fear that a wife and kids will be a game changer too. I feel a sense of urgency for many reasons, but that is definitely one of them.
There are many others, the opportunity cost to your corporate career for example. The reduced bank account balance from where it could be if you sold your soul. And the list goes on.
As much as we like to romanticize the process, there are a lot of risks and pitfalls. Luckily for a lot of us, it is not a choice and we just aim to minimize these hurdles!
A fair question but I don't see them as mutually exclusive options. You can absolutely work 70 hours a week and have a great relationship with your family. I also work from the house so it's not quite the same as someone working for others in an office they spend 2 hours a day commuting to.
We're not talking about skipping your kids altogether, we're talking about spending an extra 20 hours a week working for just 5-7 years so that you'll be able to spend the next 30 years any way you want to (I assume, since you're on this board, you're a 50-hour-a-week person to start).
My kids are the most important thing to me and, in life, you make trade-offs: bigger house or nicer car? Get my teeth fixed or go to the Bahamas? Work 50 hours a week doing something in which I have little control for 50 years or work my ass off for 5-7 years so that I have control for the next 45 years? That's how I see it.
No worries, my desire to do my own startup is independent of YC. I just think it would be fantastic to get into the program.
"Hard" - maybe that sounds silly in that context, and lazyness is my only problem, but I don't think so. Even while consulting I dream of working on my projects on the side. From experience I just wouldn't plan for it to succeed. Also, my health is very important to me, also in terms of longterm security for the (prospective) family.
No ####! Of course it's hard. Do you think I wanted to work 70-80 hour weeks or play with my 2 year old? I wanted to play of course but the long-term vision of creating lifetime security for my family over weighed the short-term work. Read PG's essay "Inequality and Risk" (http://www.paulgraham.com/inequality.html) for more.
I don't know YC's deal but can you tell me whether or not the term sheet they put in front of you is a good one? If you say, "I don't know" or "No" or if you haven't even thought that far, I'd say you are rushing into it. I would guess that, if you have the mindset of, "If I get funded I'll do it", it's gonna be hard to get funded.