Entrepreneurship
November 28th, 2007
Every day after arranging my tie I look at the mirror and I see a guy with a suit, who’s about to face an hour of traffic to go work for a big corporate company. When I get home, I’m usually tired and not very motivated. Well, I’m still young, but I definitely don’t want to spend the next decade in this situation. I don’t mind the money, I just want something challenging with a good team, where I can learn and feel motivated.
There were several occasions were the start our company idea was placed on top of the table. But there were always something in the way, always other options with less risk evolved. Like Vlad once told me (and I agree), there are two perfect times in life to make the jump:
- Just after graduating… no expenses, no house, no car, living with the parents… you can afford several months with no income at all
- 6/8 years later, when you have some nice savings in the bank, that will allow your survival for some months with no income
I would say that option number two is the best. While you worked, you gained money, networking and experience. And you’ll need all those three to succeed. On the other hand, with option number one, the risk will be minor, but I guess the probability to succeed will also be smaller.
But I wouldn’t mind loosing 1/2 years working for my company and fail. It would be far worst if one decade from now the «what if…» ghost started to haunt me.
After graduating, a professor told me: «if you have talent and you know that you can accomplish good ideas, then do it for yourself, not for others». Humz… must resist… Must… not… take… the… red… pill… yet. 
Anyway, does anyone want to share experiences regarding entrepreneurship? From what I can see, there aren’t many developers around that even think about the jump. And that’s a shame…
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November 28th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
A couple of thoughts about this fantastic post:
I’m not sure if the probability to succeed is less if you do it early.
On the other hand I’m absolutely sure that if you gather some experience from corporate work you’ll learn a lot of stuff the easy way, not the hard way, specially negotiation skills, planning and money issues.
Another point is that you have a LOT to loose if you fail on the “after-corporate-with-some-cash”. You’ll have less network if you are on a diferent area (believe me, I’m there) and if you are married, have a house, dog and kids, well, if shit happens it’s not just a matter of starting over, it’s a matter of getting serious personal and economical problems over your head.
If you can do it though, do it for yourself, not for others. If you can grasp the technical, financial, business stuff… go for Nike, just do it! I really can only imagine returning if I fail miserably.
November 28th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
Most people are educated to find a job and keep it. Not to actually create a job. I’ve played around with a few ideas that would give decent enough products, but nothing that would sustain a company.
To me the problem is actually finding a small group (of 2, 3 people) to work on some project idea who
1) Are technically good
2) Are dependable
3) Are also interested
4) Have the time
And I don’t think there’s many people, at least in my current network, that meet 3, let alone 4 of those conditions.
I know several guys who are technically good and dependable and interested, but dont have the time because they have a full time job. I know some guys who are technically good and have the time, but are kind of slackers so you they can’t really be trusted to provide on a project that’s taking *MY* time.
And this goes on.
In my opinion, if you dont do it right after college, the best way to actually do it down the line is to find a job that allows you to have 1 or 2 days off per week. That means a pay cut, but it also means time to work on your “project” or “company” while still maintaining some income security. However not many companies are willing to have someone have weird schedules…
November 28th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
it’s all about survival and therefore, money! unfortunately it doesn’t come without hard work and good risk management. risk high, earn a lot/lose everything.. risk low, earn few/lose the opportunity of becoming stupidly rich.
if you don’t have expenses and got a couple great ideas, even if without expertise, I suggest you go and get it! if you don’t, just keep hard at your job.
me, i’m lazy so i just sit back and relax comfortably in my chair doing what someone tells me to do
cheers,
pp
November 28th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
i know andré ribeirinho (from adegga) made the jump about 6 months ago, and you can read his thoughts here: http://blog.delaranja.com/nada-disto-foi-sorte/
vlad is right about the things you have to loose if you wait too long. when you have a family and people dependant on you, things can get tough pretty quick.
November 29th, 2007 at 12:06 am
Sometimes I’ll start thinking about that, what if I create my company, what if I’ve donned two years ago?
All this questions come to my mind, but like Vlad & Ana says, when you have family dependent on you, things can get pretty though, if you wait to long.
So now is the time to take the decision, to be employee or to be the employer…
November 29th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Thank you all for your input.
Ana, André’s jumps is indeed inspiring… here’s his first post about starting up:
http://blog.delaranja.com/starting-up/
November 29th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Hi Pedro,
Your post presents a very good analysis for the personal timing for taking the leap of creating a startup.
Although I’m still far from considering myself a successful entrepeneur, and still have a lot to learn, here are some tips I’ve picked up along the way:
Write a business plan beforehand. Being creative and having good ideas is great but sitting down and writing a business plan, even if it’s a rough draft, will make you think deeply about your ideas and how to make a succesfull business of them. You’ll probably be surprised of the result.
Don’t go at it alone. You’ll need a good team both to create the product and to keep you motivated through the slumps along the way.
Focus on your product. I sound like Paul Graham for saying this, but it’s so true. Don’t get distracted with side projects just to make a quick buck and spend all the time you can making your product.
Plan for not making any money for at least a year. The exact time varies with the time it takes to create your product and getting it to the market and the amount of R&D work you have to put in, but it’s crucial to keep the team together till the end.
Just have fun. This one is the most important. If you end up working long hours on drudge work that doesn’t make you happy, you’d probably be better of working for a company and not having any worries.
Cheers,
P.
November 30th, 2007 at 9:51 am
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November 30th, 2007 at 12:09 pm
André Ribeirinho didn’t jump shit!
He had his income from other sources while building Adegga. That’s not jumping… that’s just choosing between two jobs.
Ei, but you can belive the fairy tale version if you want… just ask him.