A downturn is the perfect time to start a startup

Only if you don't need money in the short run.

I had to leave my job last December as an IT Manager after my employer changed his mind about our agreement on remote work. I took my resume out from the dust, updated it with the latest experience and started sending it to every tech company who hired on LinkedIn.

At the same time, I knew this new situation was the perfect setup for me to start my own business. I figure that I might have to spend the same amount of energy to land a job that I would have to find a first customer for my freelancer services.

For the past years, I always wanted to start my own thing. I thought I would work on building products at night while working at day. But I have to admit that when you live in the comfort of a steady income, your level of motivation to go out of your way is mostly non-existent. Instead, I am in a situation where I can't half-ass it, otherwise, there's no more income! lol

I've worked in the IT field for the last 10 years. I've built solid competences on automating business' processes, data entry, and creating custom tools project management. I am confident that with an economic slowdown, businesses will be open invest more in automation, which would reduce the pressure for them to hire new staff.

Did anyone followed this scary path? If so, how did it turned out for you?

Great points. Some of these I would never have thought of myself. I guess that's why we see big tech companies emerge when the economy is down - like Apple etc.

Yup! This is very true. It's the same with investing, you invest when the market is down not up. So, it makes sense to start a startup in a downturn too - just like I have done : )