Being an entrepreneur takes hard work and nonstop commitment to your startup. It is usually the epitome of devotion and thus a pretty risky proposition because if things don't work out, what are you left with for all of your effort?<p>What I'm curious about are examples of ways in which people reduced this risk and became successful. For instance, starting a company at night after one's day job, so they still had financial base to support themselves with? Or if they have a significant other, getting support from that person while they work full-time on their idea (similar to how many get supported by a spouse while in med school).
The first and most obvious one is to save up a war chest. You should have money to cover expenses to last as long as is necessary before you throw in the towel or turn a profit.<p>Note: It's generally better to save up the money than to have to depend on spouse because your spouse then controls the project (ie if she decides that she wont support the venture any longer, you are basically out of options).<p>You can perform due diligence after hours [ie could the idea work out if you sunk more time into it], but its difficult to really work [and may be violating an agreement, esp if you signed a really strong assignment clause]<p>If you have a spouse [or are in US, under 26, and have parents], you can piggy-back off of their health insurance.