News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Reflections on my time in Y Combinator. Parent comment

Re:Reflections on my time in Y Combinator by upupandup on Monday August 22, 2022 @07:48PM (#32558803)
If something is risky, you should treat it as such. What I see people caught up in the startup/hustle/entrepreneur porn is the belief that they are different. No, statistics still show 95% of startups fail. You shouldn't be telling people to spend your youth on something that has 5% of less of success.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Reflections on my time in Y Combinator by dheera on Monday August 22, 2022 @08:41PM (#32559194)
It depends a lot on personal circumstances, and this is what I wish was mentioned more.

For example, if you graduate with an engineering degree, can code, and don't have any grave medical conditions or loans to repay, I'd wholeheartedly encourage trying to start a company if you want to. It's risky in that the company would have a 95% chance of failing, but in that case you still learn a lot and it's fairly easy to land a job if you keep up your technical skills.

If you're stably married, your partner earns a high income in a stable job, and is supportive, that's another case where I'd say go for it, take the calculated risk.

In a lot of other cases, such as if you're knee deep in student debt, or (live in the US + have a medical condition + not a lot of savings), I'd advise building up a modest amount of savings first.

It really depends.

[ Parent | on HN ]