Family can't give you funds but can let you live in basement if the startup blows up and you need to find the next thing
I selected this option, but really it's only the first part which is true: I started Tarsnap as a recent university graduate living in my parents' basement.
I still had some costs, mind you -- food, car, medical (type 1 diabetes is not cheap, and the Canadian health care system doesn't cover drugs) -- and I covered those from a combination of savings (I graduated with money in the bank and no debts, thanks to good scholarships) and consulting; but taking rent out of the equation cut my cost of living by about 70%.
The greatest asset a young entrepreneur can possibly have is tolerant parents.
"The greatest asset a young entrepreneur can possibly have is tolerant parents."
While this is true, if my own circle of friends is any indication, tolerant parents don't usually produce the kinds of kids who have the kind of drive it takes to become a successful entrepreneur.
The lack of a safety net is a powerful motivator. The presence of one can make you lazy when the going gets tough.
>The lack of a safety net is a powerful motivator.
Yea, a powerful motivator to make you stop this craziness and get a "real" job before you starve to death. If you look back at the great insights in history they were usually from people who didn't have to worry about earning a living.
My experience on this has been a little different. Within my circle of friends/ acquaintances a lot of the people who have taken big risks, including startups or other personal ventures have been people who have only been able to do it knowing that they have the 'basement' option if it all blows up.
These aren't the particularly wealthy ones, most of whom have followed quite conservative paths, but the ones who were confident they wouldn't get a "well it's your problem, you should have got a real job" response.
Pretty much what happened to me. I had very tolerant parents when I started out, and yet, had i had the fear of not being able to make rent and so on, it would have made me execute very differently. It can be both an advantage and dis-advantage simultaneously.
"More than 90 percent of the entrepreneurs came from middle-class or upper-lower-class backgrounds and were well-educated: 95.1 percent of those surveyed had earned bachelor's degrees, and 47 percent had more advanced degrees."
I selected this option, but really it's only the first part which is true: I started Tarsnap as a recent university graduate living in my parents' basement.
I still had some costs, mind you -- food, car, medical (type 1 diabetes is not cheap, and the Canadian health care system doesn't cover drugs) -- and I covered those from a combination of savings (I graduated with money in the bank and no debts, thanks to good scholarships) and consulting; but taking rent out of the equation cut my cost of living by about 70%.
The greatest asset a young entrepreneur can possibly have is tolerant parents.