[jamroom]

I'm 41, married, and have 3 kids - my "cofounder" and I have just applied to YC for Summer 2012. I've been running in "start up" mode since around 2000, so my lifestyle has adjusted to a much lower level of pay than I would expect had I continued working in the fortune 500 as a developer, but I don't regret a single moment of it.

Even though your idea is ambitious, you might consider nights/weekends to work on it - you know the whole "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" - get something together and see if you can raise some funding - you never know. There's a lot of money being throw around right now.

I think YC is setup so it attracts those who are willing to go out on a limb for an idea, since (and this is a guess) they might be the most likely to persevere through the rough patches and stick with their idea until it succeeds.

[darklajid]

Thank you. Your voice was missing here for a while.

32, married. As of yet I have no offspring, but that's going to be corrected. Still, I lurked and commented here, always with the 'Ahhh.. If I'd be without ties and responsibilities once more' thought.

I cannot tell you how glad I am to read that someone with arguably more responsibilities in life and a bit older than me (another point that is rarely coming up here) gives a damn about conventions and prejudices and just joins the otherwise ramen-eating, single, < 27 crowd.

[jamroom]

When I quit my full time job in 2005 I can't tell you how many people thought I was seriously crazy to leave a "stable" job to do something on my own. For me however, it really wasn't a choice - it was something I had to do.

I've always believed that there are millions of people in this world who would be willing to work harder than me if only they had the opportunities I have been given in my life. To not take full responsibility for my life and work as hard as I can to achieve something feels disrespectful to those who WOULD if they had the chance. I know that may sound a bit cheesy, but it's been an important driver in my life since I've gone solo.

[bicknergseng]

We're not all eating ramen and single. Yes, when you're married with kids and a mortgage the immediate risk is greater, but that doesn't mean us <27's are immune or ignorant of risk. Many of us have 100k in school loans. Even the ones who don't are not eager to throw away a safe opportunity at an established company to forge out on their own.

I had a tough time finding a cofounder among my peers. Even the most entrepreneurial of them, people who had started things in college, are still far more inclined to go to work for someone else (especially with an offer in this job market). While I know there's a myriad of reasons, I think a most would rather go somewhere where all of the responsibility is on them. If you mess up at a big company, there's hundreds or thousands of others that shoulder the fallout. If you mess up and you're one of 2 or 3 or 4 people....

My point is that it takes courage to start your own company no matter what age you are.

[jamroom]

You are so right - I like to think of it as accepting responsibility for your life. Several hundred years ago "starting your own company" could be equated to "going west and creating a new life" - it takes a lot of guts and determination to strike out on your own, and most people would never dream of it.

[vyrotek]

For what it's worth, I'm 27, married and have 2 daughters and quit my job just a few months after my youngest was born (2 years ago) to join a local incubator and start my startup. Man, the wife wasn't exactly thrilled about that idea though :)

[novakinblood]

Wow, I'm glad I'm not alone. Married, 32, 3 kids (all girls,yikes!) and a mortgage and working on PhD but still want to do a startup. Glad there still is hope.

[jonstjohn]

Good on ya! I too often people saying - oh, I'm not in my 20s any more so I can't give up my job making $$$ and supporting my family. News flash!!! It's all about priorities and what's important to you. If your dream is to do a startup but you feel hemmed in by your house, car, etc, start thinking about what is important.

On the other hand, I'm working for a small non-startup software company as a salaried developer and love it. I get to focus on developing software and not running a company :)

[NDizzle]

Where do you live on a startup mode salary? Are you still burning leftover fortune 500 developer money?

[jamroom]

I live just north of Seattle, WA. I worked at VZW for almost 10 years, but early on decided I wanted to run my own business so basically saved as much as I possibly could - my goal was to have 2 years of "wages" which would give me time to get my product (at that time Jamroom) off the ground. The great news was that as soon as I left my job and could devote full time to my own business, things took off - I didn't even end up touching the money I had saved much. However, the last couple years have been a bit hard as things have been more up and down, so I'm glad to have that savings now.