Essays for the Acquisitive Mind

Point of Frew

  • Start Here
  • Essays
  • Projects
    • Online Business Ride Along
    • Now Page
    • Online Business Ride Along
    • Appointment Reminder
    • QuotaGuard Static IP’s
    • PutsBox
    • PutsReq
    • Henuby
  • Newsletter
  • Media & Interviews
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Blog / Software Engineers Need a Backup Plan

Software Engineers Need a Backup Plan

September 22, 2020 by Michael Frew

My first job was as an Associate Engineer in an Artificial Intelligence lab at a large company. Still, I was dabbling around in software development back then, doing just enough not to get fired.

Following that humble start, I ventured out to try my hand in Silicon Valley with my first start-up developer role.

For that first decade of my career, I designed, architected, developed, and deployed software solutions for large and small companies alike.

As I reached my second decade, I transitioned into a cybersecurity consulting role for companies worldwide—less technical hands-on work, more reports, and talking with other industry players.

After 20 years of working in IT companies (or the IT role in a regular company), I decided it was time to figure out how I was going to survive in IT now that I was approaching 40 years old and becoming a bit old, at least, according to Silicon Valley norms.

No Man’s Land

​The IT industry is trench warfare in WWI. When you’re the new conscript in the trench, getting your soldier shit done, it’s not too bad.

But, at some point, you’re going to be the senior soldier, and you’re the next one called out to go over the top into no man’s land.

And nobody comes back from no man’s land.

Colleagues could not move to new companies as they once had, not because they didn’t have the experience, but because they had experience and Silicon Valley is bombastically proud of its history of discrimination against older workers.

Most of us had “achieved” ourselves out of our own jobs because companies can hire any recent college grad who will take anything to have that first job.

Like the next soldier over the wall, death was all that was in front of us.

The Two Rules of this Website

How to get around this problem so I could survive once I hit 40 years old? It was a tough question, but one I knew I had to figure out eventually.

I don’t remember the first thing I realized regarding my future career, but I remember the last thing I realized.

I finally realized that if I was trying to own a successful business where I was in charge, I was doing everything wrong. ​

Rule 1) If I wanted to be successful, I needed to stop ever again trying to start my own business.

Overwhelming evidence proves that we will all fail if we keep doing it repeatedly (just like I failed too).

Rule 2) If I wanted to be successful, I needed to be buying my own businesses, not starting them. ​

It doesn’t matter how large or small the purchase is at first, but learning the buying, operating, and selling lifecycle of business provides a much greater chance of success than trying to start a business on your own.

Once I figured those two facts out, I had a game plan for my future success.

I’m in my mid-40’s and manage a portfolio of online assets, mainly software businesses, that I purchased over the last few years.

I keep my businesses simple, lean, and narrowly focused. I am the only boss (just kidding, honey) and only hire specific tasks that I am either not very good at or don’t desire to learn.

I’m protected from employer discrimination, firings, furloughs, downsizing, rightsizing, layoffs, government shutdowns, and even pandemics.

I control my own destiny, for better or worse.

This website will capture how I have reached that point today and what I’ve learned along the way.

Hopefully, it can help anyone else out that might be interested in doing the same thing in the future as they transition from early career to mid-career in the IT industry, or any industry, for that matter.

If you believe I can be of any help, I suggest you Start Here.


Online Business Ride Along

Want to learn more about my journey acquiring and operating online companies, including other failed acquisition lessons learned?  Check out Online Business Ride Along, a monthly deep dive into my journey, with actual online investments and monthly P&L’s for each businesses.



Each month, I write a summary of the most interesting things happening in the online business buying world from a buyer's point of view.

Join my other subscribers by entering your email below.

Filed Under: Blog, Featured

Who Am I?

Moving to Grand Cayman
Acquisition Entrepreneur (a hoity-toity way to say I get really excited about buying and running companies) based out of Las Vegas, NV.

I write essays about my experiences as a buyer of online businesses at MichaelFrew.com, steward the The Best Damn Newsletter for Buying Online Businesses, and provide back stage insight into running a real online business portfolio at Online Business Ride Along.

Most Popular Posts

8 Buying SaaS Businesses Insights I Learned from David Newell’s SaaS Business Valuation Guide

David Newell from Quiet Light Brokerage is one of the most … [Read More...]

Hours != Value: What Makes a Small Software Project Sellable?

I’m continually surprised at how smaller project developers … [Read More...]

Why Buy Instead of Build

I have undergraduate and graduate business degrees, yet I … [Read More...]

Online Business Acquisition Costs You Won’t Find In a Broker Prospectus

Whenever an online broker lists a business for sale, the … [Read More...]

Failed Acquisition – Lessons Learned from Acquiring the Wrong Business

In 2016, I purchased an E-commerce business that sold … [Read More...]

Online Business Ride Along – A Back Stage Pass to Running an Online Portfolio

A Side Project about the Post-Acquisitions Phase Although … [Read More...]

Software Engineers Need a Backup Plan

My first job was as an Associate Engineer in an Artificial … [Read More...]

Unknown Unknowns of Buying Online Businesses

“Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always … [Read More...]

Recent Posts

  • Online Business Acquisition Costs You Won’t Find In a Broker Prospectus February 15, 2021
  • Failed Acquisition – Lessons Learned from Acquiring the Wrong Business February 7, 2021
  • Online Business Ride Along – A Back Stage Pass to Running an Online Portfolio January 29, 2021
  • Hours != Value: What Makes a Small Software Project Sellable? January 26, 2021
  • 8 Buying SaaS Businesses Insights I Learned from David Newell’s SaaS Business Valuation Guide October 8, 2020

Online Business Ride Along

Online Business Ride Along

Online Business Ride Along is an all-access backstage pass to learn how I manage my 7-figure portfolio of Internet-based businesses. I share exactly how I’m operating these companies, the monthly P&L’s, and all the behind the scenes activities of managing multiple online companies.

If you ever found yourself saying “I’ve spent years taking courses to learn more about online business, but none of them explain what is it really like?”, then this is your answer.

Recent Posts

  • Online Business Acquisition Costs You Won’t Find In a Broker Prospectus
  • Failed Acquisition – Lessons Learned from Acquiring the Wrong Business
  • Online Business Ride Along – A Back Stage Pass to Running an Online Portfolio
  • Hours != Value: What Makes a Small Software Project Sellable?
  • 8 Buying SaaS Businesses Insights I Learned from David Newell’s SaaS Business Valuation Guide
  • Software Engineers Need a Backup Plan

Online Acquisition Newsletter

Point of Frew

A buyer’s perspective of online business acquisitions

Not one sided information pushed by an online broker or business marketplace.

  This is from in the trenches, from an actual buyer of software, SaaS, content sites, and E-commerce stores, sharing what really goes on behind the scenes in the world of online business sales.


The Best Damn Newsletter about Buying Online Businesses

Privacy Policy Terms and Conditions
Copyright © 2021 Tyler Crown, LLC, 5348 Vegas Dr., Unit 192, Las Vegas NV 89108