I sold my apartment, cashed out my pension, and took on debt to build a semiconductor startup. I'd do it again.

Hans Hasselby-Andersen spent nearly a year raising his first funding after leaving Texas Instruments during the financial crisis. Hans Hasselby-Andersen/Lotus Microsystems Hans Hasselby-Andersen quit Texas Instruments during the 2008 financial crisis with four young kids at home. He sold his apartment, cashed out his pension, and took on debt to build a semiconductor startup. Nine years later, his company, Merus Audio, was acquired by Infineon. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Hans Hasselby-Andersen, 56, CEO of Danish semiconductor startup Lotus Microsystems and cofounder of Merus Audio, which was acquired by Infineon in 2018. The following has been edited for length and clarity. When I quit my job at Texas Instruments in September 2008 to start a semiconductor company, I had four children between the ages of 5 and 14. It was almost the height of the financial crisis.