At what point do you quit your dayjob to focus on your startup?
17 comments
i saw enough of a need for my idea to quit outright and just go for it (although i have some cash saved up and can live off a low burn rate). i think that if you have the right idea and are truly passionate about it, you just know that you will be able to make it work. i did my first company by bootstrapping/moonlighting, and thought i was passionate about it, but really in retrospect it was a stupid hedge (i didn't quit my day job, for example) and my reluctance to go for it should have just been a signal that i didn't really believe in the idea as much as i thought.
as far as the new idea, i intended to leave outright back in january but instead reached an agreement with my employer to go part time for a few months (to finished a project/accrue some more stock) while i built a prototype for my idea. (in retrospect, another unnecessary hedge, but live and learn.)
not being full time on my new idea quickly became very frustrating as i felt my attention was fractured, but i still got a lot done, and it was a decent compromise that allowed me to get a team and a prototype together and sanity check the idea with smart people/entrepreneurs/investors and secure seed funding.
that said, i would be a lot further along if i had been full time over the past 3-4 months, so if i could do it again i would have quit earlier.
in any case, my last day is this friday, and i had given notice before my yc interview (even though funding hadn't yet been secured.) it's helpful to have a cushion (6 months to a year) to tide you over until you'll have something (prototype, team, ideally even something more like a beta launch) that is attractive to angels or VCs. and add some elbow room because it'll probably take you 2-3x as long as you think! the cushion helps to save you from needing to have to scrap around for consulting gigs and dilute your focus, but isn't strictly necessary.
but if you're good, your worst case scenario is just getting another job or taking another swing, so it's not as risky as it might seem. and hedging your bets/moonlighting/halfassing things (they're all the same thing :)) is more of a risk than just going for it unless you have some strange idea where getting to market quickly isn't absolutely critical.
drew (http://getdropbox.com )
as far as the new idea, i intended to leave outright back in january but instead reached an agreement with my employer to go part time for a few months (to finished a project/accrue some more stock) while i built a prototype for my idea. (in retrospect, another unnecessary hedge, but live and learn.)
not being full time on my new idea quickly became very frustrating as i felt my attention was fractured, but i still got a lot done, and it was a decent compromise that allowed me to get a team and a prototype together and sanity check the idea with smart people/entrepreneurs/investors and secure seed funding.
that said, i would be a lot further along if i had been full time over the past 3-4 months, so if i could do it again i would have quit earlier.
in any case, my last day is this friday, and i had given notice before my yc interview (even though funding hadn't yet been secured.) it's helpful to have a cushion (6 months to a year) to tide you over until you'll have something (prototype, team, ideally even something more like a beta launch) that is attractive to angels or VCs. and add some elbow room because it'll probably take you 2-3x as long as you think! the cushion helps to save you from needing to have to scrap around for consulting gigs and dilute your focus, but isn't strictly necessary.
but if you're good, your worst case scenario is just getting another job or taking another swing, so it's not as risky as it might seem. and hedging your bets/moonlighting/halfassing things (they're all the same thing :)) is more of a risk than just going for it unless you have some strange idea where getting to market quickly isn't absolutely critical.
drew (http://getdropbox.com )
As soon as you can quit without starving.
For many it's a willingness to move beyond their comfort zone. Once they know the stress/workload/etc. levels will have them on their tippy-toes and no higher, they may be ready.
Wow...what a timely question. I just let my manager know today that I'd be leaving in a few weeks.
For me it was a combination of finances and introspection.
As far as finances go, I worked long enough to save a bit of money to work full-time, at least through the summer and a little beyond. That should give us enough initial runway.
The introspection part is obviously more personal. I'm young and naive enough to go out on a limb right now and do this. I've had almost a year of work experience, enough to know that I don't like working for someone else, and enough to get a taste for what works/doesn't in "real" company.
Of course it feels risky, but after a little soul-searching, you get to a point where you feel more at ease.
But I totally agree with Readmore:
"it's a liberating, and very scary, feeling. It's also great in that it totally focuses you."
But then again, how scary can it be? We're lucky to be entrepreneurs in America. We have a lot of blessings and opportunities people in other countries don't have. We aren't going to be shot, tortured, or starved by doing our startups (as much as we can joke about how painful it will be :-). We're not going to DIE. So let's enjoy the ride :-)
For me it was a combination of finances and introspection.
As far as finances go, I worked long enough to save a bit of money to work full-time, at least through the summer and a little beyond. That should give us enough initial runway.
The introspection part is obviously more personal. I'm young and naive enough to go out on a limb right now and do this. I've had almost a year of work experience, enough to know that I don't like working for someone else, and enough to get a taste for what works/doesn't in "real" company.
Of course it feels risky, but after a little soul-searching, you get to a point where you feel more at ease.
But I totally agree with Readmore:
"it's a liberating, and very scary, feeling. It's also great in that it totally focuses you."
But then again, how scary can it be? We're lucky to be entrepreneurs in America. We have a lot of blessings and opportunities people in other countries don't have. We aren't going to be shot, tortured, or starved by doing our startups (as much as we can joke about how painful it will be :-). We're not going to DIE. So let's enjoy the ride :-)
I quit my job last week, just make sure you have enough savings to fund your startup and survive (rent, food, etc...) for the next 6 months.
I've just quit and it's a liberating, and very scary, feeling. It's also great in that it totally focuses you.
I'm still wrestling with this question myself, so take everything I say with a grain of salt.
...but I think you should quit as soon as you're sure you have the passion and commitment to see it through.
...but I think you should quit as soon as you're sure you have the passion and commitment to see it through.
It'd take me first to be convinced that my idea is actually viable. Which means the project would have to be in an operation state before I make the jump. But I definitely have the ambition to.
I went on hiatus from a job over a month ago.
Now I'm back looking to join a cool RoR startup =)
I have some cash reserves; not enough to live off of in SF for many months.
Now I'm back looking to join a cool RoR startup =)
I have some cash reserves; not enough to live off of in SF for many months.
very timely, I exited my job of three years last Wednesday. It seemed like I would never get to that day, but then it all happened so fast and I wish I had done it months ago.
While we are about 1-2 months off before launching the beta, I felt that being the founder meant I should take that plunge first, so I'm all in.
Getting off the dole was on of the most exciting things I've done and I honestly hope I'm able to maintain this independence from here on out.
While we are about 1-2 months off before launching the beta, I felt that being the founder meant I should take that plunge first, so I'm all in.
Getting off the dole was on of the most exciting things I've done and I honestly hope I'm able to maintain this independence from here on out.
When Your immigration lawyer tells You You have had your green card long enough for it to 'vest' ( 18 months ) :)
i thought that would be as soon as you have enough resources to be able to do so! so if you are single then that could mean just moving in with your parents and working off their garage! while if you have a mortgage then finding a wealthy angel to pay you a year's salary!
when you don't have any other choice.
as soon as you're fully vested at your other startup
It is such a liberating feeling! I am realizing that independance is my biggest motivator. Getting rich would be great, but I'd settle for a good living where I'm in charge of my own destiny. I could care less about telling other people what to do... actually I don't really like that, I like working with people that basically know what needs to be done.