I searched this comments page for "food" and interestingly, I didn't see any comments pointing out that starting a tech startup is a (temporary) vow of poverty. This is exacerbated in a recession, when it's often more difficult to find investment capital for rapid growth.

A point that seems lost in pg's recent start-the-startup cheerleading is that you need to be able to eat, pay rent, etc. Even if you're in your 20's and have a good chunk of money saved up, how long will it last? A year? Two? What if you don't see a paycheck for that long? Will there really be that many tech jobs available to "fall back on"? Part of the definition of a recession is a contraction of employment. That means tech jobs are less available, too.

These reality checks shouldn't stop anyone, but it'd be nice to see a reminder from Graham once in awhile to do the maths (personal budget etc.) and be realistic. A lot fewer tech workers are in the financial position to start a startup than they realize.

Ramen money indeed!