Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee
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Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee
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Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee
#2Can a failed, or mildy successful, founder jump to the exec track and get some level of success faster than if they had just set out on that path to begin with? I’m thinking of those people who have run a business for 3+ years before it tanks or who are looking for a new thing and just decide to leave
Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee
#3There are paths to founder that do not require it to be "incredibly stressful".
Another pro for founder is that you can remove yourself from echo chambers if you choose. Maybe this falls under "Choose the people you work with".
Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee
#4Can a failed, or mildy successful, founder jump to the exec track and get some level of success faster than if they had just set out on that path to begin with? I’m thinking of those people who have run a business for 3+ years before it tanks or who are looking for a new thing and just decide to leave
Isn't this the default route for failed founders?
I know a bunch of them now leading some divisions or branch offices.
Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee
#5Missing from the strategies for the first two (really all three): come from wealthy background.
Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee
#6There are paths to founder that do not require it to be "incredibly stressful". Another pro for founder is that you can remove yourself from echo chambers if you choose. Maybe this falls under "Choose the people you work with".
Please elaborate. If you are trying to forge your own path, it will definitionally be more stressful than being an employee. As a founder, you are responsible for all of the jobs you've created, and for those employees' livelihoods. Furthermore, there is quite literally nobody else to blame but yourself, unlike in the case of an employee or executive. That is stressful.
Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee
#7> Often times there are hard barriers preventing people from starting a company. In these cases my best advice is to move to a tech hub (preferably the Bay Area) and work for a tech company until you can save the money
I had to laugh there. Moving to the Bay Area will reduce your ability to save money, not increase it. I was probably saving 40-50% of my salary when I worked in Nowhereville, Florida. With the housing costs out here in the Bay Area, the long commute (wear and tear on vehicles) and the massive local and state taxes, it's almost impossible to save.
Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee
#8What about the world of contracting? You can also be someone who has flexibility on where/ when they work and for who, and it's probably a more viable 'path' in tech than in any other industry.
Since the vast majority of founders fail, having significant financial cushions from your family or years working prior is probably the top pre-requisite if 'founder' is your path.
Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee
#9Can a failed, or mildy successful, founder jump to the exec track and get some level of success faster than if they had just set out on that path to begin with? I’m thinking of those people who have run a business for 3+ years before it tanks or who are looking for a new thing and just decide to leave
That's what the failed founder at the startup I work at just did.
Re: Three Paths in the Tech Industry: Founder, Executive, or Employee
#10> Often times there are hard barriers preventing people from starting a company. In these cases my best advice is to move to a tech hub (preferably the Bay Area) and work for a tech company until you can save the money I had to laugh there. Moving to the Bay Area will reduce your ability to save money, not increase it. I was probably saving 40-50% of my salary when I worked in Nowhereville, Florida. With the housing…
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