I decided to leave my job as a CEO of a midsized company to build my own business. Although I always wanted to create my own innovative product, I decided to swim with the wales - big software vendors - to add (and catch) some value there. The reason: quick profits. That plan worked out quite well. However, money is like pure water. You need it to be alive and if you're having none you want all of it. But if you're having a steady inflow that's big enough, one day you won't want to go the extra mile for another glass. You want Pepsi instead! Okay, just kidding, you want Coke most likely... However, you'll be better of working on something that fascinates you instead of just going for the money. Maybe you're good in starting things up but you hate to keep them going. Why not concentrate on the first part then? Build & sell. Maybe you hate customer development and just want to get a high income managing stuff and doing politics. Apply for a job at an enterprise then. Do it like a scientist: formulate a hypothesis about what really makes you happy and what system you have in place to realize that happiness. Collect evidence, optimize the system. Maybe read "Business Model You" and "Design The Life That You Love". At least I'm doing that now to figure out what the next years of my life should be about. Not just money I guess. Money often comes at the intersection of chance and excellence. And excellence often comes from something aligned to your talents & interests.
I'm fascinated by your comment. I'm making a few assumptions from the "CEO of midsized company" and "quick profits" plan that "worked out quite well" about you.
It's awesome to see that it worked for you but I think some of us (maybe the OP included) are still pursuing the "steady inflow that's big enough".
For me is quite concrete, getting rid of student loans and mortgage. At that point my monthly expenses would be sub-$1k, which makes pursuing something that fascinates me a lot more feasible.
Thus I come out with a critique and a question... It seems to me that the advice to work on something that "fascinates you" would be a stage two since there could be circumstance that do require just going for the money.
The question then is, how did you made it swimming with the big whales? Was is knowledge that you had/acquired as a CEO? I've been looking more and more into "boring business" as in, not innovative or trying to change the world, but instead capture some of the profit that some huge vendors/industries are already moving, you know, where 5 or 6 figures is petty cash, but I'm not really sure where to look.
Again, props to you on getting to a place that I'm hoping to get myself :-)
