Why I Turned Down My Investment Banking Offer to Launch a Startup

http://patrickleahy.me/post/17158167548/why-i-turned-down-my-investment-banking-offer-to-launch

by pleahy • 14 years ago

27 10 14 years ago

This is also another boring HN meme akin to "how I learned to program". Normally I wouldn't call out a post like this but I think it's necessary for the health of the community that we don't promote thin content. A simple "Show HN:" would've been better.

Congrats, Patrick.

pleahy• 14 years ago

Thanks for the feedback! I'm sorry you feel that way. I really though this was a story HN would want to hear. If you don't mind, I'd be happy to talk further offline. leahy16@gmail.com. Best wishes.

jvandenbroeck• 14 years ago

did you do any validation of your idea? (airtime) / how did you do it?

newbusox• 14 years ago

I, at least, enjoyed reading it. I'm in a comparable situation, although I haven't left my job at this point. Good luck!

samstave• 14 years ago

Just out of curiosity, what salary level is a fresh grad offered?

kai-zer• 14 years ago

Standard street pay is 70k base and usually bonus in the 40k area (all pro-rated) first year out.

jcnnghm• 14 years ago

I'd like to see if the author is still happy about his decision after a couple of years. In particular, if he can't raise funds because he is unable to bootstrap for long enough, or get big enough from bootstrapping alone. The benefit of working before starting a startup, especially for an investment bank, is that you can save a bunch of money, then fund some of the stuff to get the company rolling internally, which will make raising money much easier. You don't want to end up in the situation where you can't expand (fast) because you don't have the money, and you can't raise money because you are too small and unproven. In retrospect, I wish I would have gotten a good job before doing a startup, it would have made things much easier.

michael_miller• 14 years ago

On the other hand, having a salary can be quite addicting. Going from making >$100k straight out of school(probably $150k with stock+bonus), to living on $30k (or whatever your 'ramen salary' is) is quite a challenge, especially when you know what it feels like to have disposable income. Ignorance is bliss.

thechut• 14 years ago

As a third year student at a Business School in the northeast. I can relate to how you feel.

You're being pushed and herded through internships and boring classes into what you think will be your dream job. But then you realize that none of that is what you love.For me and it sounds like for you this is when I realized that computers and technology are my passion and that's what I love.

Everyone always says that people should do what they love, and that's how to be happy. I think that for some people that's easy and for some others it's really hard. I usually find myself having to do the wrong thing before I figure out what the right thing (or way) is.

Lots of respect for taking a chance and doing what you think is awesome. I wish I had the courage to do the same. Goodluck with your first startup, I hope it's a blast :)

jacalata• 14 years ago

"A salary is nothing more than time you spend in a structured fashion for somebody else. When you don’t own your own time, no matter what the paycheck, you are not free and you will not be happy."

That's a touch overgeneralised, forgiveable in a kid straight out of college but still worthy of an eyeroll. Not everyone itches to throw off the shackles of employment for a startup, and I wish startup folk would wrap their heads around this somehow and stop with the condescension.

I'm curious about the comment 'especially onerous for me': are you saying that you have massive student loan debt that you need to cover, and that this is uncommon among your fellow prospective i-banker students?

Why I Turned Down My Investment Banking Offer to Launch a Startup

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