Lessons Learned Since The Financial Crisis really brought me back to the time when Financial Samurai was started in the summer of 2009. I want to use this post to figure out why Financial Samurai has survived all these years. My theory is that launching during a downturn has a lot to do with it.

Since I was 12 years old, I wanted to be an entrepreneur because I witnessed the fabulous lifestyles of those who called the shots instead of those who took orders. I just didn’t know what to invent. Back in 1989, you actually had to create a physical product to make money.

My entrepreneurial dreams died down after getting a job in finance in 1999. Only after graduating from business school in 2006 did my desire to start a company reignite. I was emboldened to put all I had learned from my professors to good use. Otherwise, what was the point of going to business school in the first place?

But nothing happened in 2006, 2007, or 2008 because I was tired. After three years of working 60 hours a week while also spending 20 hours a week on business school related activities, all I wanted to do was take a break. It really felt like a vacation to only have to work 12 hour days after graduation!

Only until the world started falling apart in 2009 did I finally decide to launch Financial Samurai. It turns out, there were other companies that were founded during the depths of the recession too: Uber (2009), Airbnb (2008), Quora (2008), Kickstarter (2009), Whatsapp (2010) and many more.

Let me share some reasons why launching a business during bad times is easier.

Leaving a boring job to do your own thing is scary. There’s nowhere to hide when you’re responsible for everything. At the same time, there’s nothing more rewarding than creating something from nothing. No promotion or raise comes close.

Recently, a reader asked, “What do you think you’d be doing now if FS hadn’t worked out so well for you? Back to the IB grind, real estate tycoon, build a tennis school…other? Might be an interesting article unto itself, I know you’d get at least one interested reader.”

I haven’t thought about this situation since 2012, when I first left my day job. Further, I know that after writing, “Career Or Family: You Only Need To Sacrifice At Most 5 Years Of Your Life,” I definitely won’t be going back to work full-time until 2022, at the earliest.

But this is a good thought experiment to ponder because I’m sure many of you might be wondering what if you took the leap of faith and things don’t work out either.