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Unemployed? Why Not Start a Software Company?

Posted by Cliff on from the tough-questions-for-a-tough-market dept.

R.S.D. asks: "I see all these Ask Slashdot articles about unemployment these days. Why don't a few of you guys get together and start a software company? Out there in the world, there is still a lot of software that needs to be written, and people are still pumping lots of money into software (and biotech). In fact, the software sector is still described as the enduring leader in raising venture capital, though apparently in Silicon Valley more money is going out of the maturing software industry and into things that are still high-tech like biopharm and nano. Is anyone else trying this? If so, how's it going? If not, why not?" This is easier suggested, than implemented. For those who have gone this route, what suggestions would you give to those who may follow?

"Every time I see a group of 5-10 self-described 'great but unlucky' IT workers looking for a job, and how their previous company had to lay them off because their former employer had this 'stupid idea' it was to move all the jobs to Elbonia, I have to ask myself -- why don't these guys get together and start a software company. If you don't make these 'mistakes' of outsourcing development to Elbonia, couldn't you compete pretty well?

Best of all if you ever did need to grow, in this job market, you can get highly educated and experience software engineers even more inexpensively than China or India -- I've heard some internships are unpayed these days.:-)

Yes, I am taking my own advice, and trying this, even though I was not unemployed."

4 of 860 comments (clear)

  1. Start a company? by ellem · · Score: 5, Funny

    Pfft! If I had that kind of drive I wouldn't be unemployed now would I?

    --
    This .sig is fake but accurate.
  2. Start a Software Company by danknight · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm Going to call it ... MikeRoweSoft !!!

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    wanted: one clever sig,apply within
  3. slashdot problem by havaloc · · Score: 5, Funny

    The problem with starting your own company and gathering a bunch of unemployed slashdot readers is that they will be reading slashdot from 'work', looking for the elusive FP!

  4. Re:The challenge of financing by wwest4 · · Score: 4, Funny

    why settle for pizza tips? fuck that - if you can swallow your pride and deliver pizza, you could just as easily swallow someone else's pride and do gay porn. it pays ~$300 a scene. come on, for $300, you'd take a shot in the jaw, right?