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Comment by buro9 | Hacker News Reader

I don't mind sharing the details of mine.

Year one salary was £4,800 per year.

Year two salary is £12k.

London, UK based start-up, very little revenue (working with a few test customers, opening the doors very soon as we're quite far down the road on seeing the output of our tests).

I suspect the wage will stay at the £12k level until our active users pass 50k and the revenue passes break-even. At which point we want to raise money to fund growth, but the salaries will likely rise to help us focus on that growth (rather than how the hell we cover the credit card bill).

We are seed-funded and haven't yet gone for the A round.

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How do you live in London on £12k?

Cheaply.

I get that question a lot, but it's possible so long as you're not spending on... well, anything. I've spent a lot of the last 2 years adjusting to not needing to buy things and disposing of luxuries (I wouldn't have called them luxuries at the time, but it's surprising how much isn't needed). What I do buy I find ways to acquire things very cheaply.

There are food blogs like this: http://www.theskintfoodie.com/ (Tip: Waste nothing, buy precisely what you need and plan how to use every bit)

You can get clothing from places like this: http://www.barone.co.uk/ (Tip: There's a huge supply chain from which you can purchase long before things hit shops)

I've turned off broadcast TV, cancelled the TV licence, and just watch on catch-up via iPlayer, etc.

Cycling cuts travel costs, though I keep a PAYG Oyster for when I'm with others and will make a journey with them.

And so on.

Wow! You've my respect. I sincerely hope the sacrifices (and the hard work) would pay off.

You could live on a boat - I know a few people doing that.

I'm fortunate in that I live in a council flat as I was homeless and sleeping on the streets when younger.

But even though I have a low rent, it's comparable to my friends who are living in shared accommodation in the South and East of London.

Cheap until to see the mooring fees, and various add ons, in London. Even on the outskirts in places like Kingston upon Thames, once you add in all the fees, boats are not that much cheaper. That said, given the choice between a boat and some poky flat in London, for me it has to be the boat every time.

Did you seed with EIES if you don't mind my asking?

(Always feels improper to ask such things)

We funded the seed using SEIS and did so via Seedrs.

What you are doing is great and I hope you'll find success with it.

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