I quit

http://www.emadibrahim.com/2008/03/20/i-quit/

by eibrahim • 18 years ago

39 30 18 years ago

eibrahim7• 18 years ago

I guess it is too late now :), but what do you guys think? Am I stupid or brave?

rms• 18 years ago

Congratulations... I don't think anyone here will call you stupid for quitting. Funding yourself with credit cards though, maybe. I think it's a really bad decision to go with credit cards over much more risk free money.

eibrahim7• 18 years ago

Well, i have my tax refund check which would last me about 4 months... after that it will be credit cards or investment funding... but i agree credit cards is not the best way to do it..

TrevorJ• 18 years ago

Braveness takes a certain amount of stupidity :-) Tried to leave a comment on your blog but looks like they are disabled. Anyway, best of luck to you I really admire what you are doing and succeed or fail I think you stepped out and did something, and that's really really awesome.

eibrahim7• 18 years ago

Thanks for the comments.

PS: I also fixed the commenting on my blog... it only took an hour or so :(

tim22• 18 years ago

Some will advise that you should secure funding if you see a downturn coming so that you can weather the storm. I agree though that getting investments at early stages can often be far more trouble than it's worth.

As far as quitting, well of course we think it was a good idea.

wave• 18 years ago

It is nice you were able to find 100k seed money. Most people don't have that opportunity. I am not sure if it is a good idea using credit cards, but it is not a secured loan.

Someone posted a quote by Shakespeare "Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we might oft win, by fearing to attempt."

eibrahim7• 18 years ago

Well most of it was just talk... I am not sure how much of it would have materialized and if it was worth the effort to do so now... maybe later when my money dries up.

I love the quote.

dkokelley3• 18 years ago

Congratulations! I've been out of a job now since the end of Summer 2007. No startup, unfortunately, just a few websites and odd jobs (and free rent via parents), but I'm still in school so I can justify it (however that counts).

eibrahim7• 18 years ago

Well that's not too bad... I got loans, 3 mortgages, a stack of bills and a broken xbox 360... But... it could be a lot worse.

icky• 18 years ago

You should write a country song! ;)

smook• 18 years ago

If a storm is brewing (aka recession coming into full swing)... I wait it out. I would keep the job, break into the new business idea, build some cash reserves, then jump. But, heck... it's done. Go for it. Warmest regards, Bill.

noonespecial• 18 years ago

The one thing I can say about the economy with absolute certainty, at whatever point in the cycle it is... is that there is a recession coming.

There is ALWAYS a recession coming. Go do your thing. Some of the richest and most powerful men in history began with nothing in the depths of the great depression.

akshaye• 18 years ago

i have in fact decided to do the same thing. Though i decided to quit about a couple weeks ago, i'm taking some more time to sort things out before i actually quit. Its nice to see you do that.. puts different voices in the back of my head to rest.

pistoriusp• 18 years ago

Good luck, just don't use the credit cards!

astine• 18 years ago

Yes, I would trust my friends more than the credit card companies. The former would like to see you succeed, the latter would just like to see your money.

hollywoodcole• 18 years ago

Well I wrote this long note about staying at your job, saving, and not using credit cards but deleted it all. I figured its your life and why not take a chance!

Goodluck! I will be following your blog along the way.

aflag• 18 years ago

What's the problem with using credit card for funding? I'm new here, but I have already seen many people advising against it.

phaedrus• 18 years ago

Well first of all - it's the same problem as using a credit card to pay for anything you can't really afford!

However it has a special "bad omen" significance in regards to running your own business because sometimes you hear stories of someone whose business is not doing well, and they won't admit it and instead ruin themselves trying to bail out the business out of personal funds, such as running up a huge credit card debt.

That's not to say that this guy is going to do that, but just that in general you cringe when you hear of someone using a credit card to fund a business.

hunterjrj• 18 years ago

Funding using lines of credit and credit cards? Unbelievably high exposure here. Best of luck to this person, I truly hope they succeed and do not have to deal with the consequences of having a massive debt load with suffocating interest rates!

jharrison• 18 years ago

Welcome to the club of those who are willing to do things that most are not. My company has gone from 2 people to 7 and now to 1 over the last 7 years and I will never work for anyone else.

4 months goes by VERY quickly. Believe that you only have 4 months (or maybe even 3) and do everything you can to make your project work in that time. "Work" doesn't mean it'll be perfect. Get it up and adjust on the fly. PG has said it. Others have said it. Launch and iterate. You can do it!

We're all rooting for you!

I quit

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