Confessions of a Middle-Class Founder

Post by encoderer » Wed, Oct 25, 2023, 4:50 PM UTC

phone8675309 wrote: post #40

encoderer wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is not the traditional definition of middle class in the United States. The traditional American dream was a middle class life: stable career, single income family, house in the suburbs and a nice pension check when you retire. Fair to point out that that is a bygone era and maybe you do need $6 mill now, but maybe we need a different name than “middle class” to describe it.

That is the original meaning of the term middle class - a class that does not need to sell its labor to a boss to survive but who is also not part of the idle rich crowd.

Post by fourseventy » Wed, Oct 25, 2023, 4:54 PM UTC

ryandrake wrote: post #24

encoderer wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The third way is to add sweat equity and build a business slowly around your normal 9-5. There is just as much downside to this route, it’s also risky, you take time away from hobbies and relationships, and even if you’re successful there’s a period where you will basically just have two full time jobs. That said, I did it this way, and I know a lot of others that have, and I was able to see it through. Timeline: 201…

This path is also fraught with legal risk, depending on your "normal 9-5" employer. If it's a FAANG or other large tech company, most of them (at least the ones I've worked for) lay claim to every single IP you create while working there, on or off the clock, using your own equipment or theirs. It doesn't matter whether or not they legally can--you are unlikely to be able to afford a legal defense against them.

Post by RestlessMind » Wed, Oct 25, 2023, 4:59 PM UTC

WJW wrote: post #39

sowbug wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$6 million x 4% safe withdrawal rate = $240,000 a year. It's enough for comfort, but it's still considered a middle-class income in the more expensive parts of the country. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/takes-middle-class-americas-l...

You guys. Median income in the USA is about 76k per year (according to https://dqydj.com/average-median-top-household-income-percen... ). 230k will quite literally put you in the top 10% of income earners in the USA, and probably much higher elsewhere.

Post by j4yav » Wed, Oct 25, 2023, 5:02 PM UTC

cjbgkagh wrote: post #33

busterarm wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also it's a false dichotomy mainly pushed on you by venture funds to encourage you to play in their world. Bootstrapped tech startups have such low costs and labor as to make other traditional small-business owners jaws hang on the floor in envy. Unicorn money is a distraction that's keeping everyone's eye off the ball and deluding people into ignoring the power in their fingertips.

The low cost base also means it’s really hard to compete against. A lot of VC money is aimed at monopolizing a niche and extracting long term above average returns out of it. Having a lifestyle company operating in their niche destroys that as a possibility and means they’ll never be able to get the returns they want.

Post by thrway63245 » Wed, Oct 25, 2023, 5:08 PM UTC

WJW wrote: post #39

sowbug wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$6 million x 4% safe withdrawal rate = $240,000 a year. It's enough for comfort, but it's still considered a middle-class income in the more expensive parts of the country. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/takes-middle-class-americas-l...

You guys. Median income in the USA is about 76k per year (according to https://dqydj.com/average-median-top-household-income-percen... ). 230k will quite literally put you in the top 10% of income earners in the USA, and probably much higher elsewhere.