As discussed in other topics, the salary progression in Switzerland (in comparison to the U.S) is quite low and at some point, a ceiling floor is reached.
Would it make sense to work for/launch a startup to reach faster FI? Or are the risks too high?
As someone in their 20s or 30s, what would be the right move(s) to advance their career faster?
A startup is a scalable company, so a company that can grow very large very fast. It is super hard to come up with an idea that would interest investors and succeed. If you just want to create a startup because you want to get rich faster, but don’t even have an idea, then it’s clear that it’s the wrong approach.
Of course it’s possible that you didn’t mean startup, just small business. There I can’t help you, I don’t know enough small business owners.
in case you were referring to startups: dive into the startup-ecosystem by attending events, courses, competitions. grow yourself a network, and sooner or later someone wants you to co-found their startup… or, of course, pitch your own idea.
there are startup event calendars for switzerland, just google
To be honest, is probably easier and more successful to consequently reduce spending that to found a startup that will net you money in X years. Startup is hard work, 80+ hours a week including events networking etc.
You won’t have a life no holidays etc, and no certainty that is going to be paid off. So it may be easier to attack your spending, that would still leave you some free time and you could sleep better at night than with a startup.
I worked for a startup in 2011 for one year, and I saw the founders. They basically never slept or had a life. We worked out of the roof floor of one of the founders mom’s home.
After 8 years they are successful, their business is exploding and still it is all revenue, not profit. They need to reinvest everything, hire new people and are still making a normal salary.
I have no doubt in 5-10 year they could sell off the company for x millions and be set for life, but they rode a high risk venture with no social life for almost 20 years.
If you cut down your spending to 25 % of your income, you may be FIRE in like 10 years.
A lot of startups fail – but you are right startups/ equity are the best way to get rich (see: https://twitter.com/naval/status/1002103360646823936). Another way is to look for a startup that has critical traction (like big series A and super credible investors). That lowers the risk somewhat (usually a nice salary + benefits + options) and still provides substantial upside. If things don’t run smoothly, it is also much easier to quit (compared to giving up a full-fledged company).
afaik 9 out of 10 startups fail. and what do people do after they went broke? new idea, start over.