The idea that entrepreneurship is some kind of nirvana that you have to aim for is downright ridiculous. Being an entrepreneur is hard, more so in emerging markets like tech. The world is currently evolving around technology, and it is quick to adopt, but quicker to abandon. Getting customers these days is a lot harder. People expect more, so you have to provide more with less. Five thousand dollars could get you on the way, but now days, you need twenty thousand. But no one ever tells you that. All you hear is "I'm quitting my job to start some ridiculous business based on an unproven idea." Because, some months ago, a guy or some seventeen year old kid sold out their half-finished project for thirty million dollars.

The real truth about being an entrepreneur, and a tech founder is that this shit is really fucking hard. I mean, harder than opening up a pizzeria and simply operating it with a 6% margin on gross (which makes for a good living). Startups are very, very hard due to how you have to invent everything. Even if you are copying some other team, you have to create your own systems. That is the main reason most people don't even manage to launch. They had never realized that sales and marketing need to be systemized before they can work. That you can't simply run ads on adwords and get good traffic. They don't know how creating content marketing is tough, because it takes time, and a good understanding of what the market wants to read about (something even marketers get wrong).

It used to be that some person could simply throw some PHP at it, and get going. Not so much. With money, comes competition. And bubbles create an over-abundance of money, hence an over-abundance of competition. I've learned to think small. Rather than trying to build the next big thing (an attitude I would carry), I now want to build the next small thing. So small, that it goes unnoticed that most people here. Though small != small profits.

And did I mention work? In a regular job you clock in, do your thing, and clock out. If anything comes up, it will have to wait for tomorrow (or Monday). In a business, if you don't act in a timely fashion, you can end up getting DDoS'ed (like it happened during the whole Pycon fiasco), and simply get taken down by a bunch of dumb shits. Being a business owner means that the business is always in your mind, no matter what. If you are vacationing, it means that you log in every couple of hours and see whats going on. Employees? Try getting an employee to answer their phone while on vacation.

So, don't quit your job unless you have a steady stream of clients, and your business is profitable. Don't quit for an idea. Don't quit if you got accepted into some incubator. Because good jobs are a rare thing. If you have one, keep it. Its worth it.

But who am I to even say all of this? To turn you away? I talk and interact with founder-types every week. They are mostly lost, because they don't know what the fuck to do next. No money, and no future prospects. Lost and trying to make sense of things. They ask for help, and I sometimes do give then a push. But I know, deep in my heart, that they will never make it. Not due to their idea, or talents, but due to how unprepared they are for the reality of business. I've done more than a dozen, and I still feel like a noob. I make the same dumb mistakes, and still think a bit too positive. Though experience has taught me to be way more careful, and not trade-in a good, steady paycheck for the chance to become the next big thing.

Life is not about being on top, but about being on top of your game. Your own game.