Dug up a post of mine from 2 years ago [1]. I bootstrapped for 14 months without salary and then took a pay cut for 2 years. Here are my numbers. I blogged about this as well [2].<p><pre><code>  Loss of salary for 1 year, 2 months
  Does not include loss of 401k match or ESPP
  -$140,000

  Successful Kickstarter @ $25k
  +$20,000

  8 week contracting project @ 20hrs &#x2F; week
  +$16,000

  Living expenses for 14 months (savings&#x2F;stocks)
  -$70,000

  Post funding difference in salary from market rate
  -$50,000 (year 1)
  -$40,000 (year 2)

  Total ≈ -$264,000
</code></pre>
[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=7570428" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=7570428</a><p>[2] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;jaisenmathai.com&#x2F;openphoto-trovebox&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;jaisenmathai.com&#x2F;openphoto-trovebox&#x2F;</a>