[joeclark77]

Not everybody finishes their PhD. I believe there are a lot of successful people who started something during their PhD that turned out to be more than just a dissertation. You could simply shift gears and go ahead with the startup, hoping to finish the thesis later (maybe using your startup as a research site or data source?) or you could focus on the PhD project now and monetize it after you graduate. Reflect on this question: do you really want to be a professor, or primarily value the sheepskin?

[anthonye]

I don't really want to be a prof, I'd rather be in industry. I like making things too much :)

I see value in doing the PhD though, so it might very well come down to one off the other.

The timing of the startup is going too be really important, so that will likely drive things. Thanks!