Seeing so much of the talented currently laid off, why aren't we seeing new bootstrapped businesses?

The general advice that I have heard is to just keep learning and enter the workforce when it is normal again. But I thought for some people, this is the push that they needed to build their own startup or business. Sitting without any job that screw anybody's mind so this seems to be an option too. Funding is dried up but people with a good enough runaway can start a business together in a bootstrapped manner. Even if you return to the workforce right now, there isn't a guarantee you'll be getting your previous CTC, the previous WLB. Companies are trying to cost cut by overloading on a per employee basis and raising competitive nature between teammates themselves. If you getting this much toll, 70 hours per week in worst cases, might as well put that effort on your own venture. Building a startup is risky. But when your current job is itself risky, doesn't seem wrong to build one. But popping up of such small scale business doesn't happen much. Why?

It's infuriating how everyone's advice to deal with layoffs is side hustles, wasting your life away to constantly upskill and reducing spending. Basically everyone here is saying "live life like shit to appease your corporate overlords" as if layoffs are OUR fault? Instead, why aren't we seeing any advice on the lines of: Build expertise in something while you're an employee and later start your own company/business/consultation on the basis of it. This will increase competition within businesses and will force them to treat their employees like humans. This was kind of the reason why things were generally good for employees from 2021-22 because all the startups popping up increased competition for labour. Or if your employer lays a bunch of people off and starts giving the rest of you their workload, simply refuse! Don't work extra long or extra hard. Get the employees together collectively and make everyone, or at least the majority refuse to entertain these outlandish demands from your employers. What are they gonna do? Fire you all and lose their business? And if that's not going to work, just do everything very poorly and if you're asked about it, just cite that there is a lack of manpower needed to get quality results. Basically, why have we collectively decided to take the short end of the stick and make our lives miserable when we should instead force employers to face consequences of THEIR OWN poor strategic planning? Why aren't we even discussing ideas for, let alone working on protecting our own best interests rather than interests of those who are screwing us over?

Is there enough upside to starting your own product vs having a good stable job which pays very very well? I don't really want to do 14 hour work days where I'm building a product while working in the company also. During these times (tech industry recession), is there a good enough upside?

I know this will sound like a very biased opinion but just sharing my 2 cents of today’s market. The way with highest probability of success, money and ensuring a better future for your future generations is to startup. It has the highest risk, highest reward. But in today’s landscape: where inflation is always higher than your hike, there’s no guarantee of employment even in next 1 years, the effort to remain in top 1% is humongous and many other reasons like that, really make me feel that if you’re able to start a company and even capture 0.1% of market who’s willing to pay something for your service/product, that’s all you need. Of course the struggle doesn’t end there and you have to keep working for as long as possible? But your capacity to earn and provide for generations to come is much higher than working for someone else. All disagreement is welcome :) Just tired of running this race for years now and still never feeling financially secure.

IIT grad here building a venture backed startup. I think 99% of folks here believe that venture backed founders are super entitled and in a much "cosier" position than employees Just sharing a few facts about our journey so far if it helps anyone improve their perspectives- 1) Paying ourselves 33% of our campus salary & 60% of what we are paying to our employees (Talking about Pure Base Salary here, not including ESOPs) 2) Insane stress - You basically have to raise money to build (esp if its deeptech because of the high fixed costs) and there are predefined metrics you have to always chase, sometimes just beyond yourselves. Your product will be copied if it's good because well, they always have more money than you. You work 7 days a week for insane hours, chasing metrics required to be "afloat" 3) 99% of venture backed startups result in 0 liquidity gain for founders. So basically in all likeliness, everything is for a net negative return compared to if we took the campus job So, when you wholeheartedly bash founders as if they are sitting On a goldmine while you are toiling for THEIR gold Treasure, just understand that more likely than not, there is not really any gold but rather an irrational hope they are clinging to Also, Yes-we pay above market to our employees (100% hike for the last one) but the truth is some startups just Can't afford it. And ironically, there is a much higher looking down on these startups with meagurely paid founders rather than giants like Tech Mahindra paying peanuts to their employees while having a 1000% salary hike for the executives. Yeah, most startups need to do better but please appreciate if someone is atleast trying to do better because trust me, it's INSANELY HARD.. The number of posts I see about Flipkart making hundreds millionaires is way too less than the ones I see about pinpointing at every single mistake early stage startups do & I just wanted to express my opinion on it Peace!

It's more difficult finding a job as a founder I've realised 1. If your venture is still continuing, they don't trust that you'll work enough at the job. 2. If your venture is shut, extra questions and judgement as to how and why it happened. 3. If your venture is successful and profitable, they'll ask why you want a job if it's going so well. I've never received any preference because of being a founder. On the contrary it's made getting good jobs more difficult. Thankfully I've managed my earnings through my startup, but I feel stuck because I'm not earning as much as I want to, plus I can't work on new things anymore. I would have liked to work on other things but it doesn't seem like I'll be able to get a chance to do that anymore.

It is fun sometimes but I feel that's 20% off it. There are 99 reasons wherein you feel like giving up daily but somehow you stick along & keep going. The stories we read online or anywhere else of riches are quite few but you feel a complete let down wherein somebody made insane money in 3 years & you are struggling for 5 years+ making some money but not what you imagined. I run a profitable bootstrapped business for 5+ years & some days are hard coz everybody is hopping on new tech (eg: Crypto, AI) & you might be doing the same old stuff & don't know how to pick yourselves up to learn something new. People are getting funded & making insane money in secondaries, etc. Then dealing with bullshit on the internet. Everyone on LinkedIn is successful, putting numbers & gyaan. Some days are overwhelming & you feel being super rich comes with a lot of factors in your favor & tradeoffs as well. Bas, tumhara number aaya nahi hai ya shayad hi aayega. Rant over.