[enraged_camel]

>>All of my developer friends that told me I was stupid

Did they really? That's very surprising. In my experience, developers tend to be very understanding and supportive of other developers who leave stable jobs to start their own company.

>>While I've had continued stability.

I'd say you're in the minority. Startups are much riskier, and "stability" would be one of the last words people would use to define them. Everyone knows that.

[blue_dinner]

"developers tend to be very understanding and supportive of other developers who leave stable jobs to start their own company."

Have you ever started a business? Most people are not supportive, including developers. You might even lose friends over it. You are going against the norm and most people can't relate and find it strange. The only people that are supportive are those that have a business mindset.

"I'd say you're in the minority. Startups are much riskier, and "stability" would be one of the last words people would use to define them. Everyone knows that."

All businesses have some risk. It took a year or two to get to the point where it was stable. But I was profitable from day one.

I'm not sure what you define as a 'startup', but if you mean create an app and hope that people come to it with no real business plan, I didn't create a startup. I formed a company around a business model and slowly built it up.

Too many people in IT think they aren't replaceable or that the good times will last forever.

[enraged_camel]

>>Have you ever started a business?

Yes I have.

>>Most people are not supportive, including developers. You might even lose friends over it. You are going against the norm and most people can't relate and find it strange.

Software is one of the few industries where leaving a stable job and striking out on your own is an acceptable and relatable career path. The reasons are two-fold: low cost of entry and the many inspirational and well-publicized stories about famous software startups. Google, Apple, Microsoft, Facebook... any developer who has been in the industry for more than a few years will be familiar with how those companies got founded.

All of my friends were supportive when I started my own business. Not everyone approved, but they all understood. If you've lost friends when you started yours... maybe you should pick better friends next time.

[mifreewil]

Just curious, where are you located? I'm from the midwest and my experience was similar to yours where most people were hostile to the idea of starting a business. Complete opposite experience in Silicon Valley though.