Re:Five Years as a Startup CTO: How, Why, and Was It Worth It?
by Aurornis on Saturday October 04, 2025 @03:51PM
(#45476172)
> aware that "wanting to do engineering" probably is stopping you from financial freedom/a more interesting life.
This only makes sense if you assume the startup will fail and you ignore all of the high-paying engineering jobs out there.
If financial freedom is the goal, the easier and far more reliable path is to pursue the well-trodden road to a job in Big Tech and put some minimal effort into the promotion process.
The average startup founder does not walk away with financial freedom or even a functional company. The average outcome is that the startup doesn't work out and they pay the opportunity cost of having lost out on years of career income.
Even the acqui-hires and small time acquisitions that happen in my local startup scene rarely leave the founders with more money than they could have earned at a regular 9-5 engineering or EM role.
It's only a select few who get that coveted large exit that turns into financial freedom after 5-15 years of grinding.
This only makes sense if you assume the startup will fail and you ignore all of the high-paying engineering jobs out there.
If financial freedom is the goal, the easier and far more reliable path is to pursue the well-trodden road to a job in Big Tech and put some minimal effort into the promotion process.
The average startup founder does not walk away with financial freedom or even a functional company. The average outcome is that the startup doesn't work out and they pay the opportunity cost of having lost out on years of career income.
Even the acqui-hires and small time acquisitions that happen in my local startup scene rarely leave the founders with more money than they could have earned at a regular 9-5 engineering or EM role.
It's only a select few who get that coveted large exit that turns into financial freedom after 5-15 years of grinding.