Ask HN: What to do after selling startup?

[buggy_code]

As a young, recent college CS graduate interested in startups -- I'm curious -- what do most of you plan to do after selling your startup? (And for those who have sold startups already, what do you spend your days doing?)

Contributing to open source projects? Teaching middle schoolers how to program? Traveling the world wasting money on drugs & hookers?

I'm kidding on the last one.

It almost seems like "day jobs", besides providing a basic source of income, also provides a social environment for one to live in.

Thanks!

[patio11]

I have no particular intentions of exit-via-selling. Rather, I'm more of a mind to "hack capitalism": fit a job around what I want to do in life (find a nice young lady, spend more time with my family, feel the grass under my feet once in a while) rather than fitting life around mostly inflexible work obligations.

I like work, don't get me wrong. There's a certain dignity to it, and I'd go bonkers if I wasn't solving problems for somebody. I just don't feel the need to do the traditional 9 to 5 thing. Or the 8:30 to zomg o'clock thing, which is slightly more traditional for Japanese salarymen.

[buggy_code]

This sounds alot like the "Monk and the Riddle" philosophy. Is this what you're getting at?

[trapper]

I have always thought you would be awesome at taking someones product and taking it's web sales to the next level. Is that what you are interested in?

[JungleDave]

Often, go to work for the company that acquired your startup for a period of several months to several years. Few deals are structured so that the founders can just walk away after selling. Beyond that, the most common path it to start another startup. It's addictive!

[Hexstream]

Start another programming project that interests me, but without monetization considerations in mind this time.

[buggy_code]

Where would you live? In your own house? On your own island? Or somehow work in a company that lets you spend your free time working on an open source project?

[dbul]

Apparently starting a startup for startups is becoming a more and more popular post-sale activity.

[petercooper]

I got out of programming as a necessity and in to doing things for the love of it. Teaching, evangelizing, helping people out, mostly. For me, programming was/is a means to an end, not something I enjoyed doing.. but helping other people to learn and enjoy programming is something I enjoy. (As an aside, I can now sympathize with those professors who teach subjects without having any commercial experience of them. It helps, but I don't think it's a prerequisite to being a good educator.)

[bk]

How did you transition? Do you hire programmers now to build stuff, instead of doing it yourself? Or is the nature of your business just much more content/marketing oriented now, so you don't need much (new) technology?

[jasonlbaptiste]

I've already said I plan on setting aside a certain percentage of my net worth to angel invest back into startups. I want to help people who were like me when I first got started at 18 (clueless but relentlessly passionate on building things that can change the world).

I'd most likely do a startup again (and again) at some point, but angel investing could easily become a full time startup.

I'd also spend a lot of time setting up a non-profit that introduced young kids to technology at an early age. I was pretty lucky that my dad got me onto the computer when I was four. There are a lot of kids in bad areas of the world that aren't that lucky.

I guess in short, I want to help give people the same opportunities I had from people that believed in me. With a good amount of money, you can do that on a much larger scale.

[wheels]

"Don't start a company unless it's an obsession. If you have an exit strategy, it's not an obsession."

[ams6110]

Interesting viewpoint. The one I've heard is: if you DON'T have an exit strategy, it's just a hobby.

[mian2zi3]

I traveled for a couple of years, then went back to get a PhD in mathematics.

[buggy_code]

Are you a professor or a research scientist now?

I have pondered this route, but it seems that in general, the research community / academia tends to "shun" those that don't do straight undergrad -> research.

[fb]

I'll probably waste some time contributing to open source projects and then invest into hookers :) Really, if your only reason to do a startup is to do something else after that - why bother? If you like contributing to open source projects - contribute now! You like drugs and hookers? What stops you now?

[moe]

What stops you now?

My credit balance.

[reitzensteinm]

"wasting"?

[dmillar]

I'd buy my parents house from them, and let them finally retire. I'd travel a bit, then setup a small office and start working on my list of ideas.

[FredSource]

Having sold my startup, the money gives me flexibility to do what I want!

Personally, I am i. managing an open source project ii. picking up/tasking the kids to school (generally spending time with the kids) iii. biking regularly to get/stay fit iv. lunches with friends v. looking for the next "thing" I want to get involved in

Ahh .. but you can see I am a little older than you!

[unalone]

I haven't sold my start-up, nor has it publicly launched, nor do I want to sell it if the opportunity arises, but I'd imagine you go on to your next big idea.

The people who do startups like the freedom of working on their own thing. That doesn't extend to just startups. Design video games, or direct a movie, or start a band.

[ALee]

You usually have 3 stages (based on the successful guys I've met before):

A) Vesting period- after the initial sale, you take on the day job of either (a) doing what you were doing before, if you were properly aligned in incentive structure, or (b) doing something different that they bought your team for. For some, they find that they have now reached a state in corporate America that allows them to vault to the upper echelons of management, while others feel these days don't go by fast enough.

B) Soul-searching/vacation period- for those who don't stay after vesting, some people go and soul-search, Entrepreneur In Residence gigs, live 4-hour workweeks, travel copious amounts, become advisors or investors in other companies, or find their original cadre of friends to start hacking on stuff. Some start dating.

C) Next gig- depending on the riskiness of the individual, they may never sell another startup again and become the circling crew of technology professionals, others will compete with much furor with another startup, while others will forget their hacker roots and take $5M from a big VC firm on an unproven idea.

[charlesju]

Being a VC/Angel seems pretty fun, but knowing myself, I'll probably get itchy and want to jump back into the game at the first opportunity I see.

[yan]

Related: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=398597

[mantas]

I'm just launching own startup this spring, so I cant say for sure...

But if I succeed, I'll probably keep doing what I do now - code, blog and do startup once again.

[daremon]

Certainly read this: http://philip.greenspun.com/materialism/early-retirement/

[gregparadee]

1) I would start all over again. If I was successful once I feel I could be successful again. 2) I have an idea for a non profit I want to start and knowing that I could financially support myself and have money to start this I would get it rolling 3)Invest. I may not have the next big thing but I'm sure other people out there do and I would like to help them out because I will have known what they are going through.

[vaksel]

a) Trip around the world to go race on every famous race track. Pretty much covers a lot of Europe + Asia.

b) Setup a "Hey everyone, I got some money, and want to be an angel investor...send me your ideas." page. Invest into a couple of promising startups.

c) Start thinking of something new to do. And then do another startup.