I graduated recently from a good university and have a well paying job in Product Management. I chose Product Management because it was sold like a pre cursor to Entrepreneurship. Tried my luck with some college level pitching contests before that but I never got to the point of securing any funds. So, I got into the job anyway.
This is my present situation:
-
My present job not only has a strict contract against any kind of side hustle (even if it is unregistered and unpaid and unrelated to the company's field of business), the working hours are really bad too. I feel completely unmotivated by its vision and the only USP is the high pay. You also become "unemployable" in the future if you get terminated for breaching such a clause. Thus, I have maintained my distance from the side project ever since the job started.
-
Because it pays decently well, I am able to add about 4 months of runway (for only myself) every 3 months to my personal savings. I don't need to commit any expenses to my parents either but maybe when they retire in 4-5 years, they'd require my support financially.
-
I never got to the funding stage but always to the final stages because - the idea is promising (according to many judges) but there has been no solid prototype (other than some surveys). I do not possess the technical skills to build the prototype myself. I tried involving more people in the team for that purpose, but communicating the vision to them (basically PM-ing) is extremely challenging as a part time thing. I often consider learning those skills myself but it would require significant time (that my job does not want me to have).
-
I really want to focus on fitness as well. I am in my 20s. Hustling is great. But I don't want to end up on a stretcher in my 40s for things that we only see the elderly suffer from. I have this belief cemented in me because I have been, at one point in life, the youngest person in the ICU.
In summary, how can I minimise my risk, maintain sanity in my life and give a fair shot at chasing my dream? I want to be on track for long term success: mentally, physically and financially.