Whenever I speak to folks building in the tech space, whether they are indie hackers or venture-backed startup founders, I find the ones who make it say the same thing: "If I knew how hard it would be, I would never have done it." I feel that. You're supposed to enjoy the journey more than the end goal, but what if the path is horrible? For me, I seem to have stumbled into a stubborn mindset. It has been five years, and this is my third startup. The last two were venture-backed; this one hasn't raised money yet. I don't enjoy the failure. It creates a numb, heavy feeling in my forehead (hopefully not a sign of something else) that doesn't go away until I get a small win. Then the next day, it's back. The failures heavily outweigh the wins in terms of quantity. But here I am, back in front of the laptop, in front of my code editor, in front of LinkedIn. Writing code, looking for customers, talking to customers. You constantly hear that if you want money, then just get a job, but that is only the case for the elite. For someone with an unconventional background, this is the only way to create a life-changing outcome. So here I am, trying to love the journey, but my nose is bleeding.
You could e.g. not work in startup culture but work in Research, Tertiary education or for the government.<p>I decided to work in the not for profit sector for a far lower salary than FAANG and I have never regretted it. I am told by government employees the paperwork can be obscene, but you actually do sometimes get things done. it depends which agency.