Would you leave a 6 figure job to start a company?

Are you happy with your current job? If not, do you think moving to another 6-figure job would keep you happy for an extended period of time?

If the money isn't making you happy anymore, then consider pushing on to something more challenging as that is likely what you need in your life.

Of course, only you can introspect to find the answers you need.

I left a reasonable 5-figure job to work for myself and still consider the startup route as well.

I am not sure why Jessica's post is in this discussion. She is pretty young, and I am not sure she has had a real job + startup experience to say what she is saying. While I agree that to do build a successful startup, that has to be your number one focus, and having a job will be really distracting. But, you can do some prototyping/idea vetting, while you are working full time, and quit only when you think you have something substantial, and already have a solid plan.

If you are in a dilema, go ahead ad do it. The real question if, if you are in your 20s or 30s, and don't have a mortgage/kids or a green card application going on, why are you working on a big corp?

1. Save money, have at least one year to two years of savings.

2. Leave your job in good terms. Tell your manager and co-workers "I taking a break from corporate world this year, doing some traveling, and some little project. I hope I will see you guys again in the future, and would love to work again."

3. Start your startup.

4. In one year, here are your options:

   a) Startup went well, 

   b) Startup failed, you wasted 30-40k (no biggie):
      a.1) Tell your company / ex managers you would want to work there again. If you left with a good terms, you should be able to come in.
      a.2) Find a job somewhere else, and show your product (A lot of companies like people that can show a finished product, even though it wasn't commercially successful.

In one year, you will learn a lot more, and be a lot more marketable to other companies, (if you have something decent to show). The only risk your are taking is 30-40k (depending on how low your living expenses are), + whatever your are missing as a salary. Keep in mind, that if you can sawllow a lot of risk, you should totally do it. Once you get married with kids, it will be really really hard to do it (almost impossible).

My point is: if you are 1) really good at building products from scratch. 2) You can take risks/have a low risk profile 3) Have at least 40-60k saved. Why in the heck are you NOT trying to start something, or join something. Big corp job will always be there (if you are good, off course).

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Ps1. Do quit a job, and build another stupid niche thing (you see many 'startups' that are just building a feature, and not a bussines). You can use the time at your company to test the market, verify your product-idea (or even build a prototype), before quitting.

PS2. If you don't have at least 50-70k savings after 5 years of working as an engineer, you really should look at your spending habits. Start saving now.

Yes, I just left a 6 figure income in July to do just that :)

I don't think the decision has anything to do with your income. If one isn't willing to risk a small part of their life without that safety blanket of a steady paycheck, they're probobably not cut out to be an entrepreneur. And if one is cut out to be an entrepreneur, no paycheck working for someone else will ever be sufficient.

No absolutely do not leave your six figure(!) job to do a startup. Your startup might fail and where will that leave you? Don't do it. Hang on to that job, get promoted, and increase your salary. Save your money very carefully and retire happy and well off in 30-40 years.

You can always work on your startup in your off hours. That way you can still keep the dream alive, yet safely in the realm of a hobby. Just make sure you never risk a lot on it, because you'll probably fail.

Yes I would, I have, and I will.

I always think back to Jeff Bezos's philosophy, which he calls the "Regret Minimization Framework" (see http://bijansabet.com/post/147533511/jeff-bezos-regret-minim...). He basically advises projecting forward to when you're 80 years old. Ask yourself if at that time, would you regret X? This helps you frame your decisions with more of a long term view of your world. Helps you forget about some of the smaller stuff (like financial security).

Also in most cases, you can always go back to your cushy job if needed.

To begin, I've never had a 6 figure job.

That being said: everything valuable in life comes at a great cost. Absolutely everything costs something. 6 figures should about cover that "great" cost.

Ask: what are you living for? To sustain or to see a world you've never seen before? If the latter is the case, start your company and never look back

I'm pretty risk averse and I would find it hard to leave a big salary like that to do something real risky. Fortunately for me, I don't make anywhere near that much and probably never will...unless I make it as an entrepreneur.

  Some things to think about:
  1) Are you really sure your job is secure and recession-proof?
  2) Are you really sure your company is secure and recession-proof?
  3) Starting your own company is one of the surest ways to get rich.

If I were in your shoes and asking myself such a question, I would take a good hard look at the company I was working for and the current economy and all that and wonder if maybe my urge to chuck it all and do something "riskier" was really a reaction to a subconscious feeling that maybe my position isn't anywhere near as secure as I superficially believe it to be.

I'm risk-averse/security-seeking but I hope to make it as an entrepreneur because I basically agree with sentiments (mis)attributed to Benjamin Franklin to the effect that the only real security is rooted in freedom.

HTH and good luck with your decision.

Yes - I already did once (do not regret it one bit) and would probably do it again! I would like to know when I am old that I did at least try to create something of my own!:)

Yes - and I have now for the past year, though it was a little different.

My advice is to find something you can do when you start your company that will make the year off worthwhile even if you get $0 in revenue - I've taught myself web design, iPhone programming, Facebook app development, Drupal, content organization, etc.

I also finished the 2nd Edition of Beginning Hibernate 3 for Apress, got engaged, and ran 15 marathons or ultramarathons in 2010, so even if this startup turns south, I'm really happy with the way the year is going.

I left a six figure job voluntarily to do my own thing. Before I left, I was working late nights, sometimes until 2 or 3am. I liked the job, but was unfulfilled. Fast forward three years, and I am now on my own in a successful startup that I own. I'm making about the same amount in income. And I sometimes stay up just as late at night working. So why leave, you ask? Freedom. I make my own hours. I work for myself. When I win, I win for ME. When I lose a deal, I lose for ME. My passion has increased one hundred fold, and I sleep soundly at night knowing that I am in control of my own destiny.

Wouldn't you be more comfortable leaving a 6 figure job? This way, you'd have more savings, and the knowledge that if you've done it before (earned a 6 figure salary), you can do it again. I think someone who earns just enough (perhaps around 70-80 k) would be least likely to leave.

I did. I was fairly senior at Merill Lynch, and left a cushy job, bogus corp title and well over six figures to start NewsCred. Have never looked back. Apart from marrying my wife, it was the best decision i've ever made in my life. Oh yeah, I was scared shitless. Just do it!

Sorry but I have to disagree with many of the points Jessica pointed out.

Regarding consulting, How would you pay your bills when your company is not profitable. I mean, see Twitter. Their valuation is way high but they don’t make money. So the only option to pay your bills and rent is to do consulting on the side or VC money (which I personally don’t believe in).

During school you have time to network, take advice from your professors (many of them are entrepreneurs themselves), and you have enough time to learn if your idea will work or not. I don’t say you will have tons of time to build a facebook while in school but you can build a prototype (version 0.1) and see if that will work.

I really like this idea “Join an early stage accelerator program like YCombinator or TechStars” because here you meet people who are also in the same state of mind as you are. You meet good mentors (probably best in industry). You get enough money to rent apartment. These programs are best for fresh college graduates. Try for 6 months. If it works, it excellent. if it doesn’t, no big deal. You learned something.