I started, boostrapped and sold a SaaS business

i also sold in 2021 when the money flowed easy. i'm not set for life but i could easily go 10 years, longer if i sold assets. eventually the burnout faded and the boredom got to me after 1.5 years and i'm working again. working on personal projects "for fun" is not the same as making money, no matter what anyone says. buying expensive shit is awesome for a while but it gets old. especially if you already have a home you actually like living in and the 'expensive toys and experiences' itch has been scratched for a while because your business was already successful by the time you sold it. i don't want a huge house and i don't need another car or overpriced workstation computer. it makes me wonder what drives billionaires to keep going. they're probably just bored when they're not working. it might be as simple as that.

“ I have definitely lost a few years of life expectancy “ Why? Genuinely curious. Stress can lower life expectancy?

> But I have lost my marriage along the way, and I have definitely lost a few years of life expectancy. > I really wonder if it was really all worth it. Wait, are you saying you don't think you'd have lost the marriage if you didn't do the startup? Surely it wasn't worth it if so?

'I really wonder if it was really all worth it.' You concede your marriage suffered and suggest the impact on your health was negative, but both of these things could have happened if you were just surviving in a low paid regular job. Don't be so hard on yourself and enjoy your success.

> a start up is a scam that only benefits the founders I've worked for a few start-ups now from early-stages to IPO and it definitely feels like this. Most opportunities for any amount of valuable equity is complete lies. I have been personally responsible for creating quite a few millionaires - without being one myself. > I started developing resentment against the entitlement of the software engineers I would hire You probably know this already - but you are nothing without your engineers and they usually know it. I recently worked for a financial start-up which completely imploded just pre-IPO because the founder thought that they were beyond the point of needing an engineering team (!).

From throwaway to throwaway: Would you mind sharing some contact details, or reaching out to throaway33355@proton.me? Am in similar situation and would love to have a chance to reflect with someone who's been through it.