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Comment by jswinghammer | Hacker News Reader

I'm 30 now and just getting going on this. My startup is just starting to get some nice sales traction.

I've never really understood the assessment of risk that people apply to starting a company. If my company fails when I start full time on it then I'll get a job in a week tops unless I decide to take some time off. My family won't ever notice the difference except when I have to get the insurance information changed with our doctors.

I have a wife who stays home with our daughter and another kid on the way. Maybe I'm delusional but it really doesn't seem very risky to me.

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Most people couldn't get a job in a week. It'd take them months, sometimes even years if they had a high paying job that is hard to come by. This may be less applicable in our field, but it's a real issue for many workers in other fields.

To do what you suggest you'd also need to have some savings, unless your startup is already earning you the equivalent of your regular salary. Most people have debts, not savings.

It can be done of course, but there is definitely an element of risk involved unless you have some form of safety net.

I think there is a confusion between being young and having enough savings to last you for a year or two. Many young people have zero expenses and thus having two years saved up is easy. For older people, especially with kids, it means you actually have to keep a budget and save. The real goal is the same, having a buffer that lets you take long term bets and still have enough time to find a job in case they don't turn out OK.

I'm in the same boat as you are, a bit over 30 with a kid. Quite frankly, doing a startup now is a lot less risky. I've already done 2 startups before and worked at some incredible companies. And because maintaining that buffer is harder my wife and I have years of practical experience in planning a budget and tracking expenses.

What insurance did you change to for the startup?

For those of us in the US and over 30, I believe the $1600/mo health insurance bill (which may or may not cover everything for a family) is the single riskiest part of leaving the corp world, not the paycheck. It will likely stay this way for the next few years until the health reform takes effect.

What kind of job would you be looking to get back into in that week? Would you go back to what you were doing or would you go to anyone with a help wanted sign in the window? I ask because I have been looking to move out of my job and into something similar (video game library/embedded C++ development) for months now and there are few, if any, opportunities available.

If I could get my old job back (or similar) within that time frame I would quit tomorrow.

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