Launching a business: why?

I’ll start sharing a secret.

I want to launch a business.Yes, I know many people in the tech industry are in the same situation. They’ve got some burning idea to launch or some dream to fulfil. A side-project going on for ages.

I do have a number of brilliant ideas, at different stages (none of them complete). But most of the time a simply daydream while reading Twitter, or Hacker News.

A few days ago I decided I didn’t want to keep reading Twitter. I really wanted to do something.

And I decided the first thing was to think why I want to launch something. What’s the reason? I must confess I hadn’t thought about it. So I imagined myself launching a startup, and then …

• … being rich? No I don’t think that’s my case. I mean, yes I would like to be rich, but I wouldn’t stop doing things if I were rich. And I wouldn’t launch a startup to get rich. And I would like to have an additional income, but honestly I don’t need it.
• … being famous? Neither that one. I guess there is a bit of vanity, but I don’t really like to be in the public eye (says the guy opening his heart to the Internet).
• … really make something meaningful? Yeah, maybe it is the mid-life crisis masked. I have a sense of purpose in other parts of my life, but I guess those parts are not enough.
• … prove myself I’m capable of doing it? Yes, there is something of that too. I’m a bit insecure, and it is a way of feeling validated.
• … prove others I’m capable of doing it? I think there is also part of that, but I also suspect people values me more than I value myself.
• … do my thing? I’m afraid there is something of that too. I work for a startup, and I’m happy. But I don’t truly feel part of it. Because reasons. Honestly, I didn’t know my motivation before starting this post. If you’re considering launching a startup, you may want to start there.

Because after thinking about it, if (big if) I want to be serious, launching a self-founded/lifestyle business (and being successful) would provide validation and an additional source of income, and I could feel part of it. But it wouldn’t put me in the spotlight.

On the other hand, for the last few days I’d been considering applying to YCombinator. I think I could convince some truly amazing people I know to, at least, create a team, commit for a few months and apply. The objective was to apply. Sort of buying a lottery ticket. For being in the spotlight.

Yesterday I was about to post the previous lines. And then today I realised that I hadn’t thought about another why.

If I’m serious about being setting up a business… am I fine using “boring technologies I already know” vs “the coolest stack I want to learn”?