26M living in western europe. I got around 75k euro saved up and earn approx 110-115k euro doing analytics in big tech.

I am getting comfortable in my work and not growing much. I am really interested in saving up 200k by 29-30 and taking a shot at creating my own startup. Worst case scenario I will learn a lot and may come back as analytics lead in whatever company with some managerial/entrepreneurial experience. Maybe this would even help me to come back straight into analytics manager role.

My logic is that I would have enough cash saved up not to worry, would have enough real life experience to navigate uncertainty, still young enough to work long hours and take risks, but old enough to be able to jump back into career if i fail.

Am i wrong thinking this is generally best timing career-wise to take a shot?

  • killer_by_design@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Are you 26 and bored or 26 and solely driven towards solving a problem?

    Even your phrasing of the question answers this. A “start up” is not the thing that you’re making you’re making a business that needs to solve a problem completely enough that people are willing to pay for it.

    If you’ve only ever worked in large corporations I don’t think you realise how reliant you are on a massive network of other people and resources. You might hear this and think “oh but I had to convince my manager to do X/y/z” and that’s great but in a start up you’re literally it. You’re sales, legal, marketing, supply chain management, QA, real estate agent, HR, engineer, logistics manager, and more.

    If you’re thinking of starting a business doing your job, you’re talking about a creating a service providing business which is more the territory of a contractor initially. If you are thinking of starting a data analytics business start out trying to get contract work and you’ll rapidly learn how hard it is out there.

    I’d personally recommend that you look into other aspects of your life to find what you’re looking for. Work is work, there is so much more to a happy life than work. Google ikigai. It’s a useful tool to think about how other aspects of your life are influencing your happiness.

    You’re amongst the highest earners in the world at 26. Try and build a well rounded life with that privilege. £200k liquid by 30, could well be several million by 40 if you simply invested it instead. Stick it in an index fund and retire at 40 before AI completely envelopes your industry. You’ve already won the lottery buddy.