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How We Secretly Lose Control of Our Startups
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The Evolution of Entry Level Workers
Assume Everyone Will Leave in Year One
Stop Listening to Investors
Was Mortgaging My Life Worth it?
What's My Startup Worth in an Acquisition?
When Our Ambition is Our Enemy
Are Startups in a "Silent Recession"?
The 5 Types of Startup Funding
What Is Startup Funding?
Do Founders Deserve Their Profit?
Michelle Glauser on Diversity and Inclusion
The Utter STUPIDITY of "Risking it All"
Committees Are Where Progress Goes to Die
More Money (Really Means) More Problems
Why Most Founders Don't Get Rich
Investors will be Obsolete
Why is a Founder so Hard to Replace?
We Can't Grow by Saying "No"
Do People Really Want Me to Succeed?
Is the Problem the Player or the Coach?
Will Investors Bail Me Out?
The Value of Actually Getting Paid
Why do Founders Suck at Asking for Help?
Wait a Minute before Giving Away Equity
You Only Think You Work Hard
SMALL is the New Big — Embracing Efficiency in the Age of AI
The 9 Best Growth Agencies for Startups
This is BOOTSTRAPPED — 3 Strategies to Build Your Startup Without Funding
Never Share Your Net Worth
A Steady Hand in the Middle of the Storm
Risk it All vs Steady Paycheck
How About a Startup that Just Makes Money?
How to Recruit a Rockstar Advisor
Why Having Zero Experience is a Huge Asset
My Competitor Got Funded — Am I Screwed?
The Hidden Treasure of Failed Startups
If It Makes Money, It Makes Sense
Why do VCs Keep Giving Failed Founders Money?
$10K Per Month isn't Just Revenue — It's Life Support
The Ridiculous Spectrum of Investor Feedback
Startup CEOs Aren't Really CEOs
Series A, B, C, D, and E Funding: How It Works
Best Pitch Decks Ever: The Most Successful Fundraising Pitches You Need to Know
When to Raise Funds
Why Aren't Investors Responding to Me?
Should I Regret Not Raising Capital?
Unemployment Cases — Why I LOOOOOVE To Win Them So Much.
How Much to Pay Yourself
Heat-Seeking Missile: WePay’s Journey to Product-Market Fit — Interview with Rich Aberman, Co-Founder of Wepay
The R&D technique for startups: Rip off & Duplicate
Why Some Startups Win.
Chapter #1: First Steps To Validate Your Business Idea
Product Users, Not Ideas, Will Determine Your Startup’s Fate
Drop Your Free Tier
Your Advisors Are Probably Wrong
Growth Isn't Always Good
How to Shut Down Gracefully
How Does My Startup Get Acquired?
Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?
How to Pick the Wrong Co-Founder
Staying Small While Going Big
Investors are NOT on Our Side of the Table
Who am I Really Competing Against?
Why Can't Founders Replace Themselves?
Actually, We Have Plenty of Time
Quitting vs Letting Go
How Startups Actually Get Bought
What if I'm Building the Wrong Product?
Are Founders Driven by Fear or Greed?
Why I'm Either Working or Feeling Guilty
Startup Financial Assumptions
Why Every Kid Should be a Startup Founder
We Only Have to be Right Once
If a Startup Sinks, Founders Go Down With it
Founder Success: We Need a Strict Definition of Personal Success
Is Quiet Quitting a Problem at Startup Companies?
Founder Exits are Hard Work and Good Fortune, Not "Good Luck"
Finalizing Startup Projections
All Founders are Beloved In Good Times
Our Startup Culture of Entitlement
The Bullshit Case for Raising Capital
How do We Manage Our Founder Flaws?
What If my plan for retirement is "never retire"?
Startup Failure is just One Chapter in Founder Life
6 Similarities between Startup Founders and Pro Athletes
All Founders Make Bad Decisions — and That's OK
Startup Board Negotiations: How do I tell the board I need a new deal?
Founder Sacrifice — At What Point Have I Gone Too Far?
Youth Entrepreneurship: Can Middle Schoolers be Founders?
Living the Founder Legend Isn't so Fun
Why Do VC Funded Startups Love "Fake Growth?"
How Should I Share My Wealth with Family?
How Many Deaths Can a Startup Survive?
This is Probably Your Last Success
Why Do We Still Have Full-Time Employees?
The Case Against Full Transparency
Should I Feel Guilty for Failing?
Always Take Money off the Table

Getting Your Idea Going: Don’t Quit your Day Job

Wil Schroter

Getting Your Idea Going: Don’t Quit your Day Job

Don’t miss out! Check out the previous editions here:

Getting Your Idea Going: There is no perfect idea
Getting Your Idea Going: Popular Excuses for Not Starting
–Getting Your Idea Going: When to Jump Ship


Every entrepreneur daydreams about walking into their boss’s office to proclaim: “I quit!”—and then loudly declaring “Freedom!” a la WIlliam Wallace in Braveheart.

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However—If you recall—this also involves the part where you get ceremoniously beheaded which (let’s face it) kinda-sorta ruins the whole celebration.

Before you quit your job and get all pumped to be the Founder of a new startup that writes checks instead of cashing them—let me give you a few things to think about.

You Need Personal Runway

Everyone talks about how much “runway” your startup has, which is a not-so-fancy term for how much longer you can stay in business before going broke.  But, no one ever seems to talk about how much runway YOU have personally.

Startups don’t fail when the Company runs out of money.  Startups fail when the Founder runs out of money.

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If you were infinitely rich (or lived with your parents, which has the same effect) you could continue to work on your startup forever—even if it was just you.  It may not be the ideal situation, but realistically you could keep your feet moving.

The ability to keep the Founders moving while the business takes longer to develop is critical.  It’s why so many entrepreneurs start in college, when they don’t have to worry about other bills.  They have the freedom to expand, contract, and expand again without having to worry about whether they will have a bed to sleep in.

Your personal runway means everything. The moment you cut off the oxygen supply to that lifeline, you’re in serious trouble.

Be Less Vulnerable

The other effect of cutting off that lifeline is the amount of vulnerability it creates.  The first 24 months of a startup leave the Founders in an incredibly vulnerable position.  It’s why they get loaded up in personal debt, take horrible terms from investors, and go into a fight-or-flight desperation mode.

All of this leads to really bad decisions.  The moment you compound that vulnerability in your business by also being vulnerable in your personal financial life—It gets a thousand times worse.

While holding onto your active income could hold you back from more time that you would want to put into the business—It’ll also protect you while making some of the most critical early stage decisions of your company.

No Shame in Your Paycheck Game

Keeping your personal coffers full is not just a hedge against failure—it’s a financing strategy that ensures your startup has the longevity it needs to develop.

Instead of thinking of how quickly you can quit your job, think about how long you can keep your job and push your startup forward.  At some point you’ll need to jump ship (we’ll talk about that later). But, for now, just make sure your number one priority is making sure you’ve got food and shelter for the long Winter.

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