Wait, are you thinking of joining the coast guard reserves and then starting a startup, or joining the reserves while starting a startup?
The latter seems very much impractical. Startups are mentally all-consuming, and if I understand the reserves correctly, you still have to report for training regularly. The mental strain of this would probably be too much, and you'd let the startup falter. Plus, what if the startup takes off and then you (heaven forbid) get called up for active duty?
The former might work, though it seems unlikely. I have friends & relatives in the military, both on active duty, in the reserves, and formerly in the reserves, and they generally have been positive about the experience. But they have personality types that are very much at odds with the typical startup founder: they like (or believe they need) structure & discipline, while successful founders usually thrive on ambiguity and change and can make decisions with very little information. Seems unlikely that the same person would have the personality traits to do well in both the military and in a tech startup.
Also, never ever join up for any branch of the armed services on the assumption that "Well, I'm not going to get sent to a war zone anyway." Geopolitics can change very quickly, and in a war, coast guard ships get deployed right alongside the navy.
I have an LLC that is just me. I do a mixture of electronics and software consulting. I do OK, maybe a little bit more than I would if I was a senior programmer at google or yahoo. (or maybe not) I would like to do more electrical engineering. I have an electronic product I would like to bring to market (ok, a bike computer) that ties in with a desktop and web based analytics tool. This sort of thing is hard to get funding for in the valley, which is why the loan was interesting. (if I'm wrong about this, let me know who would fund such a product... ;-))
I think I could handle the regimented nature of training. Until I got hurt, I used to do amateur cycle racing which involved getting up at 5am every day and riding for 2-3 hours, and long group rides on weekends.
There is a waiver for everything. Your recruiter will probably try to tell you that you can't get in but if you press the issue (or threaten to go to another recruiter who will complete waiver paperwork) you should be good.
But - Coasties have the hardest Basic of all forces. Coasties BMT makes the Marines' Crucible look like a tea party.
I don't think my little niece hike around the San Clemente mountain ranges with 100 pounds of gear for three days straight with only one night of sleep and three bags of MREs every Saturday with her little stuffed bears.
The latter seems very much impractical. Startups are mentally all-consuming, and if I understand the reserves correctly, you still have to report for training regularly. The mental strain of this would probably be too much, and you'd let the startup falter. Plus, what if the startup takes off and then you (heaven forbid) get called up for active duty?
The former might work, though it seems unlikely. I have friends & relatives in the military, both on active duty, in the reserves, and formerly in the reserves, and they generally have been positive about the experience. But they have personality types that are very much at odds with the typical startup founder: they like (or believe they need) structure & discipline, while successful founders usually thrive on ambiguity and change and can make decisions with very little information. Seems unlikely that the same person would have the personality traits to do well in both the military and in a tech startup.
Also, never ever join up for any branch of the armed services on the assumption that "Well, I'm not going to get sent to a war zone anyway." Geopolitics can change very quickly, and in a war, coast guard ships get deployed right alongside the navy.