To those who've made a leap of faith on a project
I'm looking for advice, wise words, and new opinions to leaping into something you're not entirely sure will work out.
I'm in a position where I have offers from Facebook & Google and want to take them for obvious reasons. But at the same time I want to take the path my mom would hate, which is either joining a small start up or building out a project i've been working on. I'm only 22 so failure isn't really a bad outcome, i'll survive in the end, so I think I know what the answer is but at the same time the comfort offered by the large companies is hard to resist.
I know this is a little vague and may be hard to answer/build from, but i'm trying to keep it short and sweet and i'll answer any additional questions.
Cheers guys
Do you have customers yet?
If not, take the offer from Google or Facebook. Work on your project on nights and weekends. Being a Google/Facebook alum will bolster your network and credibility and become a multiplier for this project and all of those in your future.
If you have customers, you can seriously consider declining their offer and going all in on a startup.
Regardless, you have the time and energy to do both at the same time. Best of luck. :)
This is a classic dilemma, but what you decide now doesn't make you a "corporation guy" or an "indie hacker" for life. As @nickolas_t said, writing this here means you're leaning more towards the risk-taker personality which may mean you'd sooner or later end up at a startup or a similar venture.
Imo the real decision here is do you feel ready to take the leap towards a startup, having limited experience being that young. Joining a startup means you'd need to wear many hats (most of the time) which (again in my experience) happens more easily if you've had some experience already gathered from a few "stable" positions.
I think the fact that you,
It means that you've already made up your mind and that you're just looking for affirmation, take the leap!
Thanks for taking the time and effort to give this thought and actually offering advice, really do appreciate it guys. Will definitely factor in what everyone has said.
I like Mark's heuristic w.r.t. customers. If you're still in idea phase, it's likely you'll be better off taking one of the high profile gigs even if it's only temporary.
While working, you get to learn a tremendous amount, (hopefully) save a bundle of cash, and establish a network that will be useful to you once you decide to leave and beyond.
I had to make this decision too 6 years ago. Not exactly FB/Google, but good local companies, paying 2x my first salary at the startup I joined. Looking back, it was a leap that went well. Luck.
Even if the startup failed, I learnt so much. Since my first day there, I decided about critical things. I put the project online, deployed complex environments, managed servers to work while we're featured in TV and major tech blogs. It would probably take years to do all these things in a large company.
That said, my 4 cents: