Ask HN: founders, how much you had in the bank when you started your business? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: founders, how much you had in the bank when you started your business?

#21

Post by patio11 » Fri, Oct 01, 2010, 7:14 PM UTC

SIK wrote: post #20

patio11 wrote: post #9

This depends totally on your needs, ability to make money going forward, comfort with risk, etc. My bare minimum personal burn rate is about 1.5k per month, 2k at my usual standard of living. I quit the day job with about 5k in liquid savings, a retirement account rather larger that I haven't touched, and some consulting work lined up to cover the summer months. It was all but certain that sales from September on wou…

What city do you live in? Can you break down the $1.5k and $2k rates?

A small city in central Japan you may not be familiar with.

$450 rent, $300 utilities (power, gas, water, sewage, data data data), $100 gym, $500 health + pension, $250 food + sundries if I live the cheapest I have ever achieved living. $750 on food and sundries if I live how I actually live (e.g. eating out, entertaining, going out with friends, what have you).

Re: Ask HN: founders, how much you had in the bank when you started your business?

#22

Post by revorad » Fri, Oct 01, 2010, 10:01 PM UTC

About £15,000 living in London. More would have been nicer but didn't want to make things too comfy.

Re: Ask HN: founders, how much you had in the bank when you started your business?

#23

Post by ashitvora » Sat, Oct 02, 2010, 1:42 AM UTC

I would say, If you have money to pay your rent and bills for the time you need to get first version of your product out, go for it.

Also, have a good cofounder. You might have heard this many times but this is true. A good cofounder will take away some burden from your shoulders and you will keep you motivated.

If your idea works out, its good. If it doesn't, not a big deal. You will have learned alot along the period of time which will help you get better job than you would have got when you graduated.

Re: Ask HN: founders, how much you had in the bank when you started your business?

#24

Post by gallerytungsten » Sun, Oct 03, 2010, 12:35 AM UTC

A really basic rule of thumb is the following formula: 6 months of living expenses, startup expenses, and 6 months of business operating expenses. Do a simple spreadsheet to test if the numbers work. If you have that amount, go for it.

Re: Ask HN: founders, how much you had in the bank when you started your business?

#25

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Oct 03, 2010, 3:11 PM UTC

rmah wrote: post #8

nolite wrote: post #2

3 months rent + unemployment

Strictly speaking, it is against the rules in the US to collect unemployment if you've started a new business. It does not matter if you have revenues or not. Be aware that filing for incorporation, LLC or DBA may cause your unemployment benefits to be suspended.

[deleted]