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Have data on the opposite end: super stable type (Stanford MS&E undergrad; PhD track in ML 10+ years ago) who chose startups and entrepreneurship in scrappy, un-sexy niches of retail excess, operations research in shipping, etc., passing up opportunities in ibanking, hedge fund, and ML in Big Tech in the past ~15 years. My East Asian extended family was INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATED that I kept going off the beaten path and not following the "cultural formula" of good school->good role in company->seniority through years of service for a tried-and-true path forward... and they were right. The EV of every path I've skipped was probably low eight figures by age 40 and more comfort/sanity, based on my friends/peers who went into them. Instead I have a semistable lifestyle business that I obsess over 24/7 and am constantly doing things outside my comfort zone, and while I make a reasonable amount there's a lot of business and inventory risk loaded in every step. If I had a recommendation it would be this: instead of FOMO, collect a data point or two -- especially since you're implying that you're more steady-eddy and mature in your career path, switching to do a business for 2-3 years is super respectable and has very little downside since I imagine you have plenty of network and history to fall back to. Several of my friends in their 30s-40s have expressed a romanticized view of my career path to me, to which I bluntly say: this is mostly shit work that I suffer through to be consistent with identity and my values. It's got higher highs and WAY lower lows than your traditional 9-5, and I wouldn't wish this upon my enemies or friends. Do it only because you see unfilled needs and it bothers you so deeply that you gotta fix it on the market yourself. There's a deep amount of glorification of entrepreneurship that's celebrated... and while I think everyone loves to see the journey, I honestly don't think most people would care for it themselves. To use an analogy: it's exhilarating to see an olympic gymnastic do her thing and push the limits of human possibility in 3-5 minutes on TV... but honestly, do most kids wanna practice 4-8 hours daily in a gym during your formative years of 8-18, obsessing over form and weight transfers and live with constant soreness and bodyaches while most people their age get to play videogames and gossip with friends and develop life their own way? Starting a business can have tradeoffs that feel similar -- for the brief moments of glory that are celebrated there's a lot of discomfort, monotony, suffering, and uncertainty that accompanies it that is rarely portrayed. But simmer in that angst and FOMO... just realize you can use that as energy to get you to start down the path. Get a good advisor who's done it MULTIPLE TIMES BEFORE and hash out an MVP, and get the experience yourself before you figure out whether you want more. You're in a good position of having developed a long track record, so leverage your strengths and come collect a data point. :) |