[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.