A growing number of millennials want the freedom that comes with financial independence and retiring early – but is there a downside to retiring in your 30s and 40s? Sensibull CEO and co-founder Abid Hassan sparked a debate with a post about his acquaintance who made a fortune by selling his tech startup, spent his money on expensive cars and travelling the world, but could not find fulfilment in any of it.
In the end, he cut short his trip to South America and returned to India to set up a new business.
In a post shared on the microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter), Sensibull CEO Abid Hassan said he knows the entrepreneur in question because they work out at the same gym. “There a dude in my gym who sold his IT security company last year, and made a very sizeable fortune. Saw him do a new startup last month, and asked him why,” wrote Hassan.
Asked why he returned to build a new startup, the man told Hassan: “Bro I tried everything. Picked up new hobbies, passions, bought cars, even did 6 month travel of South America. I went mental, so I cut the trip, came back, realized I can't live without building something and here I am.”
Hassan said the man’s experience perhaps represents the “other side” of financial independence.
There a dude in my gym who sold his IT security company last year, and made a very sizeable fortune. Saw him do a new startup last month, and asked him why. He said:Related stories
"Bro I tried everything. Picked up new hobbies, passions, bought cars, even did 6 month travel of South America.…
— Abid Hassan (@abidsensibull) November 15, 2023
Deepak Shenoy, founder of Capitalmind India, replied saying life is about finding meaning. “In the end life is about finding meaning. The pursuit of money is meaningful for fulfilment. Then when you have money you realize that it was the pursuit, not the money, that excited you,” he wrote.
Precisely. In the end life is about finding meaning. The pursuit of money is meaningful for fulfilment. Then when you have money you realize frik it was the pursuit not the money that excited you.— Deepak Shenoy (@deepakshenoy) November 15, 2023
“Financial independence is a must, retirement is not,” opined X user Nikhil Jain
Without something meaningful, life's dull.Financial independence is a must. Retirement is not.
— Dr Nikhil Jain | SEBI RA (@iamMarketWiz) November 15, 2023
An X user named Vijay said that after exiting two companies and travelling a lot, he realised “there is only so much travelling and gardening you can do.”
FIRE dies down soon enough, said another person, referring to the FIRE movement which stands for Financial Independence and Retire Early.
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