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by billclerico 5937 days ago
when we started wepay we quit and had cash for a few months. we ran out. i worked odd jobs off craigslist to pay rent (like tutoring math, wordpress consulting, etc). i was still 10x more productive than when I was working fulltime in another job and trying to work parttime at night. i think it all comes down to comfort. you're too comfortable in a fulltime job.
2 comments
gridspy 5937 days ago
I'm still in my fulltime job (see http://blog.gridspy.co.nz/2010/02/part-time-entrepreneur.htm...) but I can see the benefit of having the "sink or swim" pressure.

Everyone close to me, including my co-founder, keeps telling me to stay fulltime until I have a replacement income from GridSpy. It sounds like there is contradiction on this from the HN crowd.

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cullenking 5936 days ago
It depends on what stage of life you are in. If you are young and have plenty of time to develop savings and family in front of you, going all out and dropping your full-time job isn't a crazy risk. You make it, or you snag another job when you can no longer operate without more income.

On the other hand, if you have responsibility to children, a partner, a mortgage payment etc then yeah, you need to know you won't let those things fall apart.

I personally am used to living off a small income because I've been going to school for the past many years. If I was used to $80k a year in earnings, it would take alot more to make the plunge to full-time.

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patio11 5936 days ago
People I respect (here and elsewhere) have a multiplicity of perspectives on the fulltime thing. I think you can make it work, for some value of "it" and some value of "work", on full-time, part-time, consulting-subsidized-time, etc.
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jeffvincent 5935 days ago
I can definitely see where Bill is coming from. I think part of the problem of working a full-time job while simultaneously trying to launch a startup is spreading inspiration too thin.

When you are working any type of demanding full-time job, you are asked to problem solve, innovate, and provide meaningful contributions. Simply put, the more thought and inspiration you put into your full-time job, the less you have for your baby, your startup. That's not to say you have NONE, it just means you have less. Less energy, less brainpower, less time, just less.

Odd jobs, on the other hand, work more like a release for your brain. For Bill, tutoring math was easy, fun, and fulfilling. It re-filled his inspiration, rather than drained it.

Way to go Bill, and thanks for this post. jv

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