There’s never a good time for an entrepreneur. Twice I’ve thought about going back to the corporate life, but there’s always been something that kept me out of it. Each time it’s felt like a message from the startup gods.

When I quit my first ever full time job, I had nothing lined up to transition into. It was a time of year when no one was hiring. I had quit with intentions of freelancing instead, but I was still applying for full time jobs, just in case.

I struggled a lot in the first month or two which were full of rejections, work that left me feeling unsatisfied, and low pay.

I had an idea for a project and I needed some sponsors to get it off the ground. The first person I contacted was a cold email to my state’s library manager. Ar...