When Is the Right Time to Leave Your Job and Go Full Time in a Startup Project?
During a recent Insiders Edge talk with our Founders Live Insiders, a common question was asked about how to navigate creating a startup when you have a full time job.
“I have a full time job but I am working on a startup and seeing some traction with my side business. When should I leave my job and go full time in my startup?”
This is a great question and although the answer(s) range from person to person, you may be wondering the same thing so we published the conversation.
Here’s a brief overview from Nick’s perspective. The full hour long talk with answers to a few great questions is available to members on The Feed.
A. Do you see proof of something working?
Is there sufficient information and data to prove to yourself and others there is something THERE. Do you have traction - at least enough user and customer activity to see a trajectory of a company taking shape? If you were to leave your full time job, could you logically back the decision up to your family, friends and others with data that you are working on something that is taking hold in the market? If so, take a look at that data and try to measure out the trajectory. Or is it still just an idea that needs more time to bake? If it’s the latter, that’s okay but it’s important to be honest with yourself here.
B. What’s the financial situation - can you make the leap?
What is your financial situation? Have you saved enough money to support yourself (and possibly a small team) for X amount of months - typically 6-12 months of life and operating expenses is recommended. Is revenue already being generated so the early stage company can support itself and you as you make this transition? What’s the path and revenue growth look like for the next 6-12 months?
If these aren’t affirmative and clear, I’d highly recommend not leaving your consistently paying job. In the video, through my answer I mention it’s not the worst thing in the world to have a consistent paycheck - and outside an unsatisfactory or unhealthy working environment - it’s best to not leave the financial cushion until you are fully ready.
C. Are you being Pulled? Or are you Pushing?
This last point is the biggest one for me. Is the business growing at a rate and to a point where you are being PULLED into the company operations more and more each week? Does it NEED you to give it more time and effort or the growth will stop? If you feel you are being pulled into your startup (more calls/meetings, more code deployments, more customers or users to serve leads to more revenue or higher potential to raise investment) and seeing positive results from those actions - then yes, it’s time to go full time!
On the other hand, if you are not experiencing a pull effect and are actually trying to push yourself to quit the job simply to call yourself a startup founder or any other reason associated, I’d highly caution against the decision. You can only leave that current full time position once, so be careful and use your judgment to check and see if you are being pulled to the new company because it needs you, rather than jumping too early.
For all you out there - it’s okay (and recommended) to be patient and let things fully bake.
Join as a member and watch the full hour long talk on The Feed.