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You probably want 2 years of expenses saved if you want to do a startup. Generally during the first year you are adjusting your idea for market fit and figuring

You probably want 2 years of expenses saved if you want to do a startup. Generally during the first year you are adjusting your idea for market fit and figuring out how to get your product in front of your potential customers. I would also budget an extra 4 months to retrain and find another job in the advent the startup fails. An option would be to see if your employer is willing to let you work on a side project for money (they might be OK with it provided the side project doesn't relate to what they employ you for). If so, while you are figuring out the startup, you will still have income and can quit if it takes off.

heyyouyou 11y ago
Unfortunately my current employer is fairly unopen to the idea of any kind of commercial development on the side.
- kjksf 11y ago
  That's not the only option. You can create your software on the side, offer it for free and only quit your job and start charging when the software takes off. The hardest and least predictable thing is finding product/market fit. I don't know how to do it (other than launching a product and waiting to see if it takes off) and while I lurk in startup-related forums like r/startups, most of the ideas I see seem very unrealistic (from the point of view making money). Second hardest thing is finding users (i.e. marketing and such) even if you have a decent product. Also, beware procrastination. Many people underestimate how easy it is to not work when you don't have to. You might be an exception (you can test it by doing 8hr of work on your project on Sat/Sun and seeing if you can keep it up for e.g. a month).
  - beeboop 11y ago
    If you have an anti-side-development employer I am not sure your loophole will help. I would suggest to OP simply not having any public product at all until after you leave your employer, and even then waiting a couple weeks to make it less obvious that it was ready to launch before you left. Otherwise you are opening yourself to lawsuits from employer.

heyyouyou 11y ago

Unfortunately my current employer is fairly unopen to the idea of any kind of commercial development on the side.

kjksf 11y ago
That's not the only option. You can create your software on the side, offer it for free and only quit your job and start charging when the software takes off. The hardest and least predictable thing is finding product/market fit. I don't know how to do it (other than launching a product and waiting to see if it takes off) and while I lurk in startup-related forums like r/startups, most of the ideas I see seem very unrealistic (from the point of view making money). Second hardest thing is finding users (i.e. marketing and such) even if you have a decent product. Also, beware procrastination. Many people underestimate how easy it is to not work when you don't have to. You might be an exception (you can test it by doing 8hr of work on your project on Sat/Sun and seeing if you can keep it up for e.g. a month).
- beeboop 11y ago
  If you have an anti-side-development employer I am not sure your loophole will help. I would suggest to OP simply not having any public product at all until after you leave your employer, and even then waiting a couple weeks to make it less obvious that it was ready to launch before you left. Otherwise you are opening yourself to lawsuits from employer.