> The problem is the paycheck. Do I want to risk it all, throw away my savings, all for a chance at success

Reading this, it feels better in India. Here I can work for 2 years in a good company, save enough to quit job and do something of my own for 3 years before needing money. (Lots of other stuffs are shitty in India, but this aspect is good)

That's awesome. I love hearing about how this scenario is for people in other countries.

Here in California, I don't think that's possible. Cost of living is too high to live for 3 years off of 2 years of savings. Maybe if you were very careful with spending and had a good rent situation, you might be able to do it.

If you are single and don't have children you can always leave CA for a few years, cut your expenses in half by living in a low COL area and come back if it doesn't work out.

Yup, that is a good point. I would definitely recommend anyone with the drive and interest in striking out on their own, do so in their early - mid 20's ... Move somewhere really cheap, and make it happen! You won't be able to do that (or it will be very difficult) once you find a partner because their career may be geographically restricted. Even more difficult if you have children.

I was making the same point. Why make money in a high cost area and insist on spending there :-).

You are actually luckier. If you live in California, please work there for 1 year, get your ass of that city/country and come live in a country where cost of living is lower :). That is provided you have the stomach for that and if you don't have family/kids. You can easily get Visa to almost any country and perhaps one month of California/SF salary is enough to live one year in a low cost place.

If moving away from a job is that easy in your country, it would definitely be more difficult to build stable business like the one you can build in states. People are here because you can achieve more here then elsewhere, they pay for this opportunity.

I’ve actually realized that I was thinking about this wrong. If you spend a year doing shit, you will be in a fundamentally different position skill wise.

I quit my job over a year ago (I know, long time but my project is pretty ambitious). In that year I acquired way too many skills. Like I feel like a different person.

You aren’t betting necessarily on your project but more on yourself.

If you are living in a high COL area like Seattle or Bay area consider moving to a low tax state with low COL.

Kansas, Montana, Arizona, not places you want to stay forever but you can get a studio apt for $600-$700/mo.

Can probably cut your expenses from LA in 1/3 if you are frugal and push your runway out several years until you start making profits.

Engineer in St. Louis here. I live in a crazy nice walkable area of the city and pay $400/mo splitting a 3 story house with 2 others. There are plenty of very livable cities esp in the midwest perfect for saving/working on passion projects, only off-limit because they aren't seen as tech hubs or considered hip (These are the best guesses I have). Honestly I don't really understand why programmers (or anybody working mainly on a computer) aren't getting work from home and living in cheaper more livable places. Shrugs the lack of demand is sure favoring my lifestyle.

Regret minimization framework. Looking back from your old age would you wish you had done something like this? Can you earn it all back with a good fall back plan on your expertise ?

I think more people would regret it if they knew what they were giving up, but most would probably not make that calculation. If he had kept his corporate job and spent the initial $30k a year he could have retired early only 10 years later. Maybe less if he'd be willing to live very frugally. Then he would be free to build as many apps and games as he wanted, giving him many chances at getting a big hit.

I'm in this dilemma myself, as I've always wanted to do something more risky, but I don't want to jeapordize my ability to be financially independent at ~40. Being stuck in a potentially crummy corporate job with potentially terrible management and coworkers for another 25 years (not the case now, but things can change quickly) is the regret I want to minimize beforehand.

Moonlight unless your co owns your IP? Post traction go independent?

Seems the only reasonable option to have the cake and eat it too.

> he could have retired early only 10 years later.

That is a flawed argument. 10 years later you might not have the same drive/ambition which you have right now.

Maybe, but sounds a bit like future discounting to me. I'm just presenting my dilemma, and I don't think the solution is to be idle for 10 years and then switch to entrepeneurship overnight. More like work a normal job and try to get stuff going on the side, but don't risk your life savings for a lottery ticket.

> age would you wish you had done something like this?

Not if I was 65 and still working, because I liquidated my 401k back when I was 30 and it never panned out.

But yea, I would regret being 65 and having never built a business.

> Can you earn it all back with a good fall back plan on your expertise?

I don't know. Probably, if you were able to dramatically cut costs and go into hyper-saving mode. This can be a challenge later in life though (once kids and a mortgage take hold).

Why not throw out dirty prototypes of your top ideas every weekend to see if they gain traction?

And if you can’t earn it back, are you prepared to work until you die?

In lots of tech fields the comp packages are so high this shouldn't be an issue. With good financial planning lots of engineers could actually retire in just ~15 years or so of work.

Coding until I die? sign me up

Ageism.

Contract work, side projects that make revenue, etc.

Opportunities are always there for those who keep an open mind and a growth mindset.

Let’s not derail the thread, but there are lots of people with college educations who can still only get a minimum wage job. Opportunities are not endless, nor always there.

It’s entire possible you jump off the corporate ladder and never make it back on, your wages permanently stunted and your career prospects dimmed.

Ok let me update it. Opportunities are always there for enterprising, confident and contrarian thinkers who will take several chances with low downside and try to create new things rather than compete within existing paradigms.

Disclaimer: Not financial advice but personal observations

This discounts the high failure low success rates of entrepreneurship, which is dangerous advice in a country with a broken healthcare system and no social safety net.

Again, it’s not an OR situation. One can try doing side projects while one works full time.

Is the question of what I will think of something when I'm old really the best question? I know that this seems natural but I wonder if it is a bad way to make choices. I don't think my enjoyment when old is more valuable than my enjoyment when young.

I've been considering this same move a lot recently. I know this is appealing to some people and seems completely insane to others. I believe that I understand my own psychology pretty well. The situation where every productive hour of my life can be devoted to creating my own product and my own business as well as every passing day being a step further towards zeros dollars in the bank is a way to push me into the mode of peak productivity and creativity. This is weighed against the large risk of not creating any positive revenue streams or cash injections from outside investors and spending all my money. :) I do not have a wife or children so the amount of risk is limited only to myself.

I'm in the same boat as you when it comes to my psychology and ability to get motivated. I am fairly risk averse though, and find myself unwilling to risk my nest egg.

Not courageous. Really stupid.

> The problem is the paycheck. Do I want to risk it all, throw away my savings, all for a chance at success?

here's something nobody seems to mention.

most people don't risk everything once, then exit with a set-for-life payday a few short years later. that's the rare minority of entrepreneurs. most are moderately successful for many years on end, and may finally do a $multi-million exit after a decade or more of hard work and risk.

after that initial success, you have to risk it all, multiple times, to either keep succeeding, or reach the next level of success. at any point, if you stop risking the status quo you are likely to fail.

in other words it's a self-selecting process. if you are having doubts about risking your meager savings which you can likely earn back within a few years of frugal living while working a high paying programming job, there's your answer.