No, You can't retire rich at 30 if you sell your startup
tonywright.com
No, You can't retire rich at 30 if you sell your startup
1–10 of 221 posts
Re: No, You can't retire rich at 30 if you sell your startup
#2...where retiring rich is defined as spending $300,000 annually.
I'd personally move somewhere cheaper once my income no longer depended on my location.
Re: No, You can't retire rich at 30 if you sell your startup
#3Or, and here's an idea, don't spend $200k a year. When you were creating that startup, you lived on a lot less.
Re: No, You can't retire rich at 30 if you sell your startup
#4Or, and here's an idea, don't spend $200k a year. When you were creating that startup, you lived on a lot less.
That gets to the idea at the bottom of the piece: "You can live rich, or you can retire early. But don't think you can do both."
Re: No, You can't retire rich at 30 if you sell your startup
#5I think the 'retire' desire is more of something that first-timers or non-wealthy (at some level) most aspire too. I've realized that it's more about getting comfortable to the point of being able to do things that you're passionate about, and being able to say no to the opposite, that's most important.
Re: No, You can't retire rich at 30 if you sell your startup
#6I think I could get by on $30,000 a year and working on my own ISV in a nice Latin American country. Is anyone doing that here?
Re: No, You can't retire rich at 30 if you sell your startup
#7I've been doing startups since I was 31 (22 years ago), and figured that out quickly. And I've been at successful startups (IPO, acquisitions).
Much more realistic to aim for being employed (you do love working for startups, right?), but having your kids' college paid for, buying nice vacations, taking long unpaid leaves, buying nice toys for yourself and your family, having retirement (in your 50s or 60s) taken care of, and so on.
Also, for someone who really does love startups (technology, business side, whatever), "retirement" probably means doing the same thing you've been doing, but at a more leisurely pace, and that will probably earn something.
Re: No, You can't retire rich at 30 if you sell your startup
#8I don't think stock options have "zero" value. For a lot of people working on a salary it's hard to save money, so when a startup sells and an employee gets a sizable chunk of money from the sale, it's huge relative to their cash-flow perspective.
Re: No, You can't retire rich at 30 if you sell your startup
#9As someone who just witnessed two non-founders of a startup that had a recent IPO become wealthy enough to retire -- B.S. You can do it with stock options (even without an IPO). Tony seems to be making a binary argument: it's not guaranteed, so you may as well give up on the idea.
Of course I'm doing it for the money. I'm also doing it for other reasons. Did someone die and tell Tony Wright that the world is only comprised of on/off states?
Re: No, You can't retire rich at 30 if you sell your startup
#10...where retiring rich is defined as spending $300,000 annually. I'd personally move somewhere cheaper once my income no longer depended on my location.
Looks like it's time to recommend The Millionaire Next Door:
http://www.amazon.com/Millionaire-Next-Door-Thomas-Stanley/d...
Don't bother to buy it: Get it out of the library and skim it. It's not a difficult read and it belabors its own point a bit. My own summary:
The secret to retaining a high net worth is the same as the secret to accumulating it: Control spending. Don't waste money.
Most of the people you know who look like they're wealthy -- fancy cars, country club memberships, stylish clothes -- are actually spending money as fast as they can get it, or faster. They have no savings and are living paycheck to paycheck.
Meanwhile, many of the wealthiest people in your town are wearing four-year-old work clothes and driving ten-year-old trucks that they bought used.
It doesn't do your future any good if you make $300k per year and spend $325k per year. Contrariwise, if you make $75k per year and only spend $50k per year you'll be a millionaire in under forty years.