I've been thinking about risk a lot in the past year. I used to feel like I had this safety net of getting a job in big tech again if the founder thing didn't work out. When all the layoffs and hiring freezes began, I realized that my safety net may have disappeared.

It's scary to lose the safety net, but at the same time, I felt grateful that I've had the last six years to practice earning money without an employer. If I had been laid off, I'd be in a terrible position of competing against thousands of other recently laid off employees who are all desperate for work. If TinyPilot were to fold, I don't think I'm guaranteed another successful business, but I feel like I'm more likely to build a profitable business than to get a job as a developer in a poor tech economy.