The excellent fountain of knowledge, Ben Werdmuller, posted a really interesting article which he highlights three things to consider if you’re deciding to be a tech entrepreneur (here are my favourite snippets):
1. Leaders vs Developers – “… being a great leader is not always the same skillset as being a great developer. And neither is necessarily the same as being a great businessperson … The details-orientated, engineering mindset that development demands is also well suited to building a company, as long as this is accompanied by those empathic people skills and a willingness to learn. And in fact, the best developers areinformed, decisive, empathic, persuasive, selfless and great communicators.”
2. Be careful out there – “Even with a solid business model, the risks are large, and software entrepreneurs are disproportionately from wealthy, upper-middle-class backgrounds. (The first round of funding for new companies is often expected to be from friends and family. Could you ask yours for money to start a new venture? I wouldn’t want to.) It’s tough out there, and you’re unlikely to make money in the first few months.”
3. Know the risks and do it anyway – “I speak to a lot of developers who want financial independence from a day-to-day job, or worse, want to get rich quick, without any realistic ideas about what’s involved or the kinds of things they’ll have to do. The rewards – both emotional and monetary – are potentially great … Nonetheless, it’s not a decision to take lightly, and that’s something that I’m not sure the current set of angel incubators emphasize enough. Do it, but do it with your eyes and ears open.”
If you’re interested, you should definitely read the full article over at Ben’s blog. In addition, he’s currently busily sorting out the APIs for the first ever Scottish Culture Hackday.
Incidentally, you might want to also read the recent article by Tony Stubblebine on advice for a young entrepreneur.
StartupCafe 
@kate: Thanks for the shot out. And thanks for bringing up that post by Ben again. I missed it the first time around, and absolutely loved it. He’s so right. You can come at this with clear eyes and still love it.
Kate and Tony – thank you! And Tony’s post is definitely worth reading for anyone who wants to start their own venture. Absolutely hits the nail on the head.
PS: the Culture Hack Scotland site is over at http://culturehackscotland.com/. And I’m also helping out with Book Hack Day, exploring the form of the book, which will be in London on May 14: http://bookhackday.com/
Also, I should say that the quote that forms the title of this piece actually comes from Evan Promodou, founder of http://status.net.
Wow. Thanks Tony/Ben. Having advice from people who have been there and done that forces us to consider our own actions/direction. So thank you for taking the time to put these posts together!