Ask HN: Intrapreneur or startup?
Long time HN reader but first time poster here.
I work at a very large corporation, but I've always had the desire to create a startup company.
Currently I have a product idea that I strongly believe is valuable and worth to develop further, however it is an idea that requires a large upfront development before a minimum viable product can be released (5-10 persons developing for 2-3 years).
I could go the intrapreneur way, trying to push development of this new product inside the company, or I could quit and go for a startup myself.
The intrapreneur way is less risky with regards to personal income. I probably could convince the company to have a few people spend their time on this idea. It might also make it easier to connect with potential customers. However I think that if the product turns out to be succesful the personal financial rewards will be lower. I feel that people higher up in the company will gain financially more from my effort than myself.
The startup way is more risky: it requires me to find skilled people which I've tried before and had troubles with finding. Furthermore, it might be more difficult to connect to, and convince customers since it is a startup and not backed by a big company. However, in case of success the financial rewards will go more directly towards myself and will probably exceed the income I will get by staying at my current company.
Taking into account that the product requires a large upfront development, would you recommend the intrapreneur way or the startup way?