[keiferski]

Do you have any interest in building a startup yourself? If so, $80k will last you 4-5 years for bootstrapping if you move to a low cost area and don’t have any dependents or other expenses.

[ccmcarey]

I have no experience with this, but I would caution about starting a startup purely because you have enough money to run it for a while.

[keiferski]

...that’s why the first sentence of my comment is “Do you have any interest...?”

[CalRobert]

This is a great thing to do (for some people) but keep in mind that 4-5 years of lost income should be included in the calculation.

[keiferski]

If you don’t do a startup because of supposed lost income, frankly you shouldn’t be doing a startup in the first place.

[CalRobert]

Which, of course, is a good thing to keep in mind when making that decision.

"I can survive for 5 years on $80k but will I miss ($x) where x could be $200,000-$2,000,000 when it comes time to retire" is a relevant question.

[keiferski]

Right, but again, if calculating your retirement is the prime factor when determining what to do with your life, a startup probably isn’t for you anyway. Stick with a solid well-paying software job and you can do the early retirement thing.

[neilgodwin]

I sure am, but as mentioned in one of the replies, I would need an idea that I believe enogh in. Would you do it differently? How do you know if something is worth it?

[keiferski]

Maybe keep the current job, don’t touch the 80k, and spend your free time coming up with a good idea that you can see yourself working on for 5+ years? That’s my advice.

[hef19898]

dang, any idea why all comments are ending up dead from this user? Anything I miss?

[glofish]

not such a great idea, you would risk both your time and your savings

- an investor would on risks money

- another team members risk only time

you would do both