I was laid off from my FAANG SDE job last week after 3.5 years. I am 25. I was offered about 4.5 months of severance, have no dependents, and no visa issues as I am a citizen.
Now I’ve faced a decision… I expect to get an internal offer to remain at the company on a different team for the same compensation. It’s a good team, but I’m not totally pumped for the type of work I’d be doing. I can either take it and forfeit my severance or leave and either go all in on a startup idea I’ve been building (with some minor investor backing) or look externally for other jobs. It could also be a combination of the latter options if the startup is a failure.
I think I’m just looking for some encouragement to take the leap of faith. It seems like the best time to take the chance given the circumstance, but it’s tough to turn down a hefty tech offer in this market.
Go for it!
I left a large corporate comp to buy small companies and then started others. Absolute rush!
Once you realize you can be dropped anywhere and just make $, it’s a liberation and it’s a weapon.
Started 5, bought 2. 2 failures so far, now playing with house $ and am self made wealthy with happy family and kids.
It’s 100% doable and even if you fail who cares just get up and do it again. One will work.
Just don’t take tiny swings, take bigger swings so you have a real shot at size and scale. Biggest regret I’ve had is wasting time on something too small.