I quit my job 6 months ago because my family of four travels a lot and bosses couldn't handle me working async (although I delivered very well).

I'm also kind of tired of working for someone else. I did SEO for 10 years very profitably and it was a dream life.

I was going to take at least one year off to take care of my health and my little one (she's 3) but as my wife correctly pointed out, I go crazy when I don't do something that exercises my brain.

Lost 30 pounds, and been doing a lot of hiking, sports, salsa, which is great, but it's not enough. Finally I understand why rich people seldom retire.

I'm reasonably productive (big fan of Cal Newport, Deep Work, Slow Productivity).

The dream is to have a profitable SaaS but it's been overwhelming to see the amount of stuff out there.

My strengths are FE and I can handle design and marketing reasonably okay. Don't want to brag but likely 90 or 95% top talent doing FE , based on the CTOs and investors we used to work with. I was Eng Manager at some point but hated the endless meetings.

I'm also over the fence with everything related to AI (I think it's powerful, but it's a double-edged sword to build in such a competitive industry that I don't find that enticing and I am not too knowledgeable of).

What would you do in my position if you had 3 years of runway?

That's if we continue spending as we are now (very comfortable living), but it could be extended to 4-5 years if we decide to live a bit on a tighter budget, provided I find a mission on what to build or do.

I know myself, and by the time I only have 1 year of runway I'm going to start stressing out. So I have some time.

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EDIT: My ideas so far.

1) Try a few micro SaaS ideas. Fail a lot and figure it out. FAFO.

2) Grow my socials so I have a bigger network. It's going well but I'm just not a big fan of all the shallow work.

3) Try one or two BIG SaaS ideas. Slow and steady, focus on quality. Very enjoyable but the risk of failing miserably haunts me.

4) Work on open source projects. I have a few that I started and have a tiny bit of traction. If nothing can be done for profit, use it as leverage to find a great job in the future and learn a ton

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Ask HN: I'm a software developer with 3 years of runway. What do I build?

Ask HN: I'm a software developer with 3 years of runway. What do I build?