Sometimes I wonder, what would happen if one of these invisible heroes dies ? What would happen to Linux if Linus Torvalds dies? What would happen to curl is Daniel Stenberg dies?
For curl for instance, only Daniel can sign a release. So what happens if he is not able to do so anymore? This is just a small example, but you get the idea. There is so much power under under these men that it sometimes gets very scary.
Most useless answer so far. Why would I take such an important decision without first getting some feedback from people who already lived the same situation? I am talking to my family every day about this, I am reading online, asking friends in the startup world, etc... Life is not as simple as "Yes" or "No"...
If you cannot learn from others and apply that to your own life and decisions, then you will gonna have a bad time...
Great answer, thanks! I consider learning that new skillset as a pro, not a con, and I really enjoy team management.
Regarding your advice, that is exactly what my long-term plan was: getting a stable job for a few years, then become an entrepreneur. But that is everybody's plan, right? Everybody wants to eventually become his own boss, but the reality is that once people get a comfortable life, it is very unlikely that they will leave that comfort zone. I don't know if that would be my case, but I think it is definitely something to consider.
Most useful reply so far. Thank you. I really needed a story of someone who lived kind of the same experience.
I know there are risks, and contrary to what people here seem to think, I am not easy to rip off. We haven't even started to negotiate with my boss, of course I will try to avoid loans and all that, I am not stupid. I haven't taken a decision yet, I need to think about it and talk to my boss and team for a couple of weeks.
My boss is a very experienced guy, he founded many companies and he is basically wanting to "test" me. At least that is what he says, but I definitely think he has what it takes to steer the ship correctly. We are currently being incubated, and all our mentors are very successful entrepreneurs and just by asking them the same question I posted here, I already learnt a lot.
How would I survive? A loan maybe? I can survive with less than 1000 $us a month. So far I've been surviving with a part-time job, but as a CTO I would need to work full time, so that would not be an option anymore.
Savings? None.
Backup plan? Well, getting a normal software engineering job, and an average life I guess.
Yes, I would probably have to help building the product as well. I am up to the challenge, it is just a little bit scary.
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