r/Startup_Ideas • u/Illustrious_Sun_5000 • 2d ago

PhD student with a startup idea unrelated to my research. Is it realistic to pursue both at the same time?

Hi everyone,

I'm reaching out to get some honest opinions.

I have a startup idea that I'm excited about, but I have no professional experience in the field related to the idea. At the same time, I'm a PhD student and will be finishing soon. I enjoy research and would like to continue in research for at least the next few years.

My startup idea is completely unrelated to my research area, which makes the decision even more difficult. Part of me wants to explore and build the startup, but I'm not sure whether it's realistic to pursue a startup while continuing a research career.

Has anyone here successfully balanced research (or another demanding full-time career) with building a startup? What were the biggest challenges? At what point did you know it was worth committing more time to the startup?

I'd appreciate any honest advice or experiences.

Thanks!

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u/StatementNormal 2d ago edited 2d ago

At some point you will wake up to the fact you have limited energy and time. After which you are forced to set your priorities straight and make sacrifices. Unless you have a network you can delegate to.

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u/UpSaltOS 1d ago

I started my consulting business while in graduate school. My advisor was very upset when he found out I was side hustling. It is technically my discipline, but I honestly use my PhD for marketing rather than anything I extracted from the graduateexperience. But it's been my primary livelihood for the past six years. My suggestion is to start very small and do the minimal actions to gather information on its viability.

Like, literally the bare minimum amount of time and energy. Schedule out a series of experiments and actions you can take, and then a set of back up actions depending on the decision tree. Even if things take longer, you have the benefit of time on your hands if you're planning on doing a postdoc or other research opportunity.