[swombat]

Nothing, I'm on my second one.

Oh, and to answer your question, what made me go start my own business is I couldn't stand the way things were done in the big corp world.

I'm impatient. I want to get things done. I want to achieve things. I cannot stand the idea of being given orders. I have no respect for authority, only for competence. I want to realise my potential. The tedious and endless game of corporate politics bullshit is just a problem to be solved, as I see it. And one valid solution for it is to get out. This game just isn't worth the candle. What do you get for learning the ropes of the politics game? More politics. It's self-defeating. "The only way to win is not to play".

The corporate world also has a well earned reputation for being bland and boring. All the dishonesty and obsequiousness that comes out of needing to maintain a "normal" image makes it conforming like a mass of grey goo. Embrace weirdness and difference. Accept the idea that exceptional people are not normal. Then maybe it'll be less bland.

I haven't looked back since I quit. Life is so much more varied and interesting. I only ever do things that I think are worth doing. I work at my own pace (which is 10x faster than anything I ever observed in the corporate world). I work exclusively with brilliant people, doing something which I think is worthwhile.

Even if there wasn't more money in the long term, this is an infinitely preferable lifestyle.

What about you, yourself, who asked this question? Why do you stick around in this corporate world? If you're wondering why all these people are leaving, maybe you should go and find out for yourself. Believe me, it's worth it.

[swombat]

Oh yeah, and one more thing...

all your standard developer care and feeding: snacks, beverages, free lunches.

Really? At your company, can I stay in bed or spend the day doing something else when I hit one of those days when I don't feel like working? Can I work in my dressing gown? Can I prepare my own food in my own kitchen? Can I have a 10-second commute from my bedroom to my office? Can I have a nap whenever I want to? A 2-hour nap?

Perks-wise, working in most corporations doesn't hold a candle to working for yourself.

[mellampudi]

Well, I get all of these, except for the preparing food part( which I anyways can't). And I work for a really big company :)

[rokhayakebe]

+5 for this one I'm impatient. The ease at which established companies take important matters and the time it requires to have a simple change kills me. And decisions take an eternity.

[briancooley]

Life is so much more varied and interesting. I only ever do things that I think are worth doing. I work at my own pace (which is 10x faster than anything I ever observed in the corporate world). I work exclusively with brilliant people, doing something which I think is worthwhile.

I have no personal experience with the statement above. Perhaps the closest I have come was telecommuting and doing project work for a couple of years.

Even if there wasn't more money in the long term, this is an infinitely preferable lifestyle.

After 11 years working for some of the biggest companies in the world and becoming increasingly miserable, I sincerely hope this is true. Sounds good on paper, anyway.

[siong1987]

I never work in a company before. Now I am still a student. But, I have this intention that I am going to start my own startup after I graduate( hopefully I don't have to wait after I graduate ). As a student majoring in Computer Science, I feel that the rules and regulations in the school really don't favor a business-minded programmer.

Personally, I really don't like the formal schedule that you have to follow strictly( imagine you have to go to your company everyday 0-5 ). Programmer usually likes to code when the ideas come. And, this "productive time" is varied with person. So, fixed working time in big corp really is not an ideal environment for a programmer.