[eudamoniac]

I'm not the original poster, but your notion that starting a business is for financially independent "made men" was just dumb and out of touch. There's a reason immigrants are frequently restauranteers and laundromat owners, and it's not because they came over with millions.

If you expect to switch right over from tech and make 200k, you will be sorely disappointed. If you expect to be destitute you may be quite surprised.

Also the failure rate for restaurants is on par with the failure rate for other service providing businesses. The fact that the number includes so many uneducated, inexperienced, frankly average or below average intelligence people who open restaurants should indicate to you that it's not really that impossible of an endeavor.