throwaway21042

Thank you for your input; I’m the OP. Based on reading the comments, I’ve realized that starting a full-fledged business may be counterproductive to my goals of wanting free time to pursue unfettered research due to the demands of starting a business with any hope of replacing my Silicon Valley researcher salary, due to the time investment necessary to start such a business.

However, I’m interested in pursuing side ventures for making money, such as side projects. Even if they doesn’t generate enough profit for me to live on, it may be enough for me to eventually shift to a lecturer position without incurring too much financial hardship, which will also give me more time to do the type of research I want (especially during the summers). If I’m able to make even just $20,000/yr from a side project that doesn’t consume too much of my time, that would go a long way for me for reaching this goal.