my second year without a job | shilin typing...
Burned through $80K in two years building startups, launched four projects (three failed), now broke but happier than ever—turns out investing in piano lessons and mental health beats optimizing runway.
Read Original Summary used for search
TLDR
• Spent $80K over 2 years ($3,300/month) and discovered that's actually below Montreal's average cost of living—reframing "overspending" as responsible budgeting
• Launched 4 projects with 4 co-founders; only Blymp generates revenue ($600/month), but learned to accept high failure rates as part of the process
• Chose $1,250/month entrepreneurial co-living over cheaper solo apartment: "sanity over an extra month of runway"
• Started piano (learned 5 pieces), joined climbing team, trained for triathlon, fixed gut health with FODMAP diet—these aren't distractions, they're the support system
• Year 3 goal shifted from "$1M revenue" to "a year when I give more than I receive"—sustainable entrepreneurship requires being a whole person, not just a founder-bot
In Detail
The author's second year of unemployment challenges the startup hustle narrative by showing what sustainable entrepreneurship actually looks like. After burning through $80K in two years across four failed projects, he reframes conventional failure metrics: his $3,300/month spending was actually below Montreal's $3,750 average, turning perceived overspending into responsible budgeting. Of four projects launched with different co-founders, only Blymp generates revenue ($600/month), but he's made peace with the high failure rate.
The counterintuitive move: choosing a $1,250/month entrepreneurial co-living situation over a cheaper solo apartment, explicitly prioritizing "sanity over an extra month of runway." He invested heavily in non-work pursuits—learning piano (5 pieces in 6 months), training for a triathlon, joining a climbing team, fixing gut health through FODMAP diet. These aren't distractions from startup work; they're what makes sustained entrepreneurial effort possible without burning out.
His Year 3 goals reveal the mindset shift: abandoning the "$1M revenue by 2025" target for "a year when I give more than I receive. A year of patience." The post's viral success on Hacker News (194 upvotes) suggests this resonates with founders tired of the grind-culture narrative. The lesson: sustainable entrepreneurship requires building a life worth living alongside the startup, not sacrificing everything for metrics that may never materialize.