11–20 of 52 posts
I'm 30, I have a wife, a toddler and another child on the way as well. I'm not sure I would classify my solo bootstrapped business as a "startup", but bootstrapping a business with a family is definitely doable. I ran my business on the side for years before reaching the point where I could do it full-time. I work 7am–6pm most days, and never work on weekends unless things "break." I try my best to prioritize my fami…
I would agree with starting on the side though, regardless of how hard that may be. The stress of suddenly being without a job, or worse, having the pressure on you to make your company work while also dealing with the stress of raising a baby does not sound great to me.
Source: currently trying this, and while the side job often has to give, it’s always at the expense of more important things, and my livelihood doesn’t depend on it.
IMO, the grind is overrated and merely covers up impending failure in many startups. Start small, stay focused, be extremely intentional in everything that you do/don't do. Grind when necessary (like to close a client or a big push).
I really enjoy thinking of it as "working at the peak of sustainability".
So yeah, it's possible. But is it right for you? We can't say without knowing more.
I'm 34, have a 3 year old at home and my current startup hit product-market fit at pretty much the same time as my son was born.
I work about 40 hours a week, keep a sane and flexible schedule, pay myself a market salary and try to keep the business mostly profitable.
It also helped to have investors that were 100% on-board with all of this and are supportive of running a calm company: https://calmfund.com/
I'm 30, I have a wife, a toddler and another child on the way as well. I'm not sure I would classify my solo bootstrapped business as a "startup", but bootstrapping a business with a family is definitely doable. I ran my business on the side for years before reaching the point where I could do it full-time. I work 7am–6pm most days, and never work on weekends unless things "break." I try my best to prioritize my fami…
I would recommend testing heavily as there will be inevitable interruptions around toddlers and infants and it's easy to half finish something and forget you did it. Or worse rip it out but not replace it with the refactored version.
I just finished reading The Cult of We. If the author is to be believed, Adam Neumann managed to build WeWork into a $50 Billion unicorn while fathering 5 children and being perpetually drunk and/or high. And having no real talents beyond incredible salesmanship and incredible obliviousness. So yeah, it's possible. But is it right for you? We can't say without knowing more.
That would give you the option to work 20-25 hours a week for your main part time job and then another 20 hours a week for your start up idea while still working ~40 hours a week.
Personally I would say it's well worth spending a couple of years trying that out instead of going down the path of 12+ hour work days with a family.