My leap of faith as an entrepreneur

Have you ever felt that you were missing something in your life, but couldn’t tell exactly what was it? Perhaps you might even feel that this time you need a new kind of a solution and to pull a rabbit out of a hat. Getting promotion, changing a job or even a career are likely the right things to do, but these solutions fix only a subset of the issues I’m going to discuss.

Generally, getting a promotion in the same job means you’ll work with the same personnel, same projects, same administration etc. Moving to another job can work these issues out, but nobody guarantees your current colleagues are better, or that the promising shiny project turned sour once you started working on it.

These kind of thoughts have possessed my mind for over a year, and they led me to a conclusion that I should try something completely different - I had to become an entrepreneur. In this article, I’d like to describe additional incentives for that drastic move.

Focus

Only once Bruce dared to jump without safety line did he manage to hang on to the rock successfully. This safety line distracted him and his mind from his main goal at that time - the jump. He was not focused.

At first, I thought I could balance my full-time job and my projects, but I soon realized it wasn’t that easy. I tried to adjust my schedule—waking up earlier and becoming more disciplined—but these changes had only a minor effect. I was more focused on my job than on my projects, which was the main issue for me. Because my job took priority, I didn’t have enough time for my projects. And I was also drained, as I spent most of my energy during work hours. My job was Bruce’s safety line. You know what Bruce did.

I am workaholic

Workaholism is a trait I inherited from my father. Challenges, learning new things, solving problems and just building stuff were my primal motivators in staying late in the office and coding. There is no cure for that.

The thing is that employers can exploit that and after I’ve been burned out several times; wasted my precious time, youth and my health, I came to a conclusion that it’s better to “sacrifice” myself to fulfill my dream rather than someone’s else.

ChatGPT, AI and new horizons

I remember somewhere in the middle of December the 2022 I read an article about fancy AI service that threatened Google and immediately checked it. To say I was deeply impressed is to say nothing. I was fascinated and shocked by this technology. I’ve stumbled upon generative AI before, but this one felt different.

My second feeling was a technical discomfort because for the first time in my professional career as a software developer I hadn’t a clue how this software works. It felt voodoo to me. I’d realized that the old days of software development are over and that this was the next big thing. To get rid of my technical discomfort I decided to learn more AI and how to build an LLM.

I had another type of discomfort I’d never felt before with such intensity - I have a tool, a genius technology. That’s amazing, but how do I make money out of it? This feeling kept me awake for almost a month!

Intuitively, I felt that this is it. Humanity has now a technological advancement and I must be part of it. If I to learn about this technology and its usages, why should I share this precious and scarce knowledge with my former employers if they have had no clue of basics in product creation, marketing, business etc.

Lastly, and here I must cope with my inner paranoia - LLMs can generate code and while it’s not perfect, it’ll get better and better. I believe this technology can bring about a new golden age for us, software engineers, or to our demise as a skill. I assume it’ll take a while, but given the rapid improvements of these models, I assume it’s mere a question of time. Assuming we don’t reach AGI or ASI, then I’d rather be prepared for massive layoffs as much as I can with a new skillset instead of being surprised and stay with useless occupation.

Growth

Have I already mentioned that coding and solving problems are my passions? In the matter of fact, due to my latest position as a CTO, I didn’t have that much time to code. And that annoyed me a lot. Now, I did some coding during the weekends, but it wasn’t enough. And at some point I’d plenty of free time in my job (since I automated everything), but it was hard for me to get back on track. I even lost my ability to concentrate and enter the “flow”, a feeling I missed a lot. I still struggle to bring it back.

But it’s not just a question of coding skills. I wanted to develop as a person - meet new interesting people, attend conferences, learn new skills, seek for new opportunities and take assessed risks. There is also a spiritual growth I’m seek - learning about the world, life, and finding my inner self. Who am I? What can I achieve in this life? What legacy will I leave? One very intelligent man once told me that your inner self is reflected in the company and business you build. I still ponder about it every now and then.

War, peace and freedom

Unfortunately, harsh Covid lockdowns in Israel contributed to my decision to leave the country. Covid has showed me that if government wants to do something it can do it very efficiently; neglect all rules, judges, bureaucracy and people’s rights in a blink on an eye. Take Canada or Australia as an example. I had finally understood, that many government officials around the globe, including the so called “experts” are actually ignorants, dilettantes and unpatriotic corrupt loafers.

I decided to move to Ukraine where at that time lockdowns were not so tough and people were not so frenzy about Covid hype. Strangely, at that time I experienced more peace and freedom in Ukraine than in most of the western world. I could go wherever I want and nobody forced and perplexed me with suspicious injections to my body. I liked my life there, and even thought to apply for citizenship but then Russia decided to conquer it.

Covid, my flight from Ukraine, and of course the never ending war in Israel had all left a mark on my self-consciousness. I began to think globally. All of a sudden many things should have not to be taken for granted - health, friendship, family, peace and freedom.

Honestly, I still experience a weird feeling that a war can burst anywhere anytime soon, and take you by surprise while you prepare a meal for breakfast. I know that entrepreneurship doesn’t necessarily solve the aforementioned global issues, but my previous job has put up obstacles by grounding physically to an office ignoring reality. As an entrepreneur I can at least prepare for some of these events by becoming more independent.

Financial independence

Entrepreneurship alone doesn’t necessarily guarantee financial independence because you still depend on your clients, luck, partners, aura, and who knows what else. You get the point. However, you can more easily define your income strategy by creating multiple revenue streams, thereby reducing your reliance on any single one.

But how exactly does it work? Do you recall the old cliche: “Time is money”? As an entrepreneur you can always “produce” time by boosting your productivity and efficiency - hiring people to do some of your job, adapt some technology like fancy AI tools, change your schedule and priorities etc. During your leisure, you can brainstorm new ideas for additional projects.

Not so easily done as a 9-to-5 employee, since your employer controls your promotions and most of your time and focus are dedicated to your main source of income—your job.

Regret

Frankly, this is the most powerful factor on the whole list—many people older and wiser than I have let slip that they regretted not taking risks mainly because they were afraid or not confident enough at that time. Although I’m still young, I have already had such moments and this feeling already upsets me much. I don’t want to pile up these “moments” anymore, but to try things and take calculated risks.

Conclusion

Although it has been a year since I last had an income, I still feel great. I feel more alive than ever, doing the things I love with the people I enjoy being around. Compared to my past self, I can confidently say that my current version is much better—even if I’m not as bulky (but I’ll fix that ASAP!).