My family tells me to “get a job” because they think physical labor = work, I act like I’m taking it as a joke but I know they really think that way and it hurts everytime.

So what do you do?

OP here: I'm bootstrapping my software as a service company, occasionally doing contract work, things are taking longer than expected money is running low, I'm still having faith, apparently they don't, even though I received positive feedback from VCs and potential customers.

your family lives in the stone ages. physical labor = blue collar. coding is the new white collar. developers are in such high demand. you could easily find a startup that has funding and code on the side for them while you build your start up.

Don' t take it too personally. Talk to them about the potential growth curve. Unfortunately, we live in a society that seems to sanctify the labour class - personally, I would rather live in the stone age than be classified as a labourer.

At the end of the day, your venture will be profitable, and then they will lighten up. I had the same problem with some people in my personal sphere.

Just don't let it get to you.

I'm 13yrs into running my business. I had the same issue too for the first 5yrs, my dad would even mail me articles for large companies in the area that were hiring. It really used to bother me a lot but then I realized that he and I just think differently and that in his mind he is genuinely concerned about my well being and thinks he is being helpful. We are just from two different generations and have two different perspectives.