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When you're asking yourself whether it's time to draw a line and move on, you know exactly when the time for doing it was: a year ago. I've never heard anyone

by swombat 12y ago

When you're asking yourself whether it's time to draw a line and move on, you know exactly when the time for doing it was: a year ago. I've never heard anyone say that they felt they quit their startup too soon. I've heard many (myself included) complain that they stuck it out way too long. There's plenty of other ideas out there. Don't waste your years on something that's not a clear winner.

tkiley 12y ago
I almost quit my startup too soon. In February 2009, I quit my job to go full time on my startup in anticipation of closing an angel round. The next week, the financing fell through. For the next six months, I was teetering on the edge of ramen profitable - with very little ramen and very little revenue growth. I seriously considered quitting, and in retrospect, there was really no compelling evidence indicating that I shouldn't quit. Today, my company is doing quite well - we are 100% bootstrapped, profitable, high seven figures of revenue, 34 employees, and good continued growth prospects. Looking back on 2009, I still feel like I should have quit at that point; I got lucky by sticking it out. I got lucky because I found it easier to muster the courage to keep trying than muster the courage to walk away. I almost quit too soon, and every day I feel incredibly lucky that I didn't.
- lquist 12y ago
  Thanks for sticking with InQuicker! It's a great product!
suzyperplexus 12y ago
I've regretted leaving a startup at the time I did. I was miserable, but probably could've stuck in there for 10 months if I'd seen the liquidity event that was coming. In my experience, most early founders don't quit because they're discouraged by lack of traction. That's why advisors and investors quit. Founders quit because of a difference of opinion around product vision and because relationships are just plain broken. One of my colleagues put it this way, "If you look at the people around you and feel sad because you're helping people you hate (who you used to like) win, that's when you need to quit."
colmvp 12y ago
One of my ex-coworkers didn't like working at a specific startup and didn't think they'd be profitable, so he ended up moving to another. However, had he remained with that startup for a few more years, he would've made over $15 million in stock options. Yeah, he's a little sour on that lol
clubhi 12y ago
I quit my startup too soon. After being gone for a month I realized that I had made a huge mistake. Thankfully one email that hinted I wanted to come back had me back in the office the next day.

by swombat 12y ago

tkiley 12y ago

I almost quit my startup too soon. In February 2009, I quit my job to go full time on my startup in anticipation of closing an angel round. The next week, the financing fell through. For the next six months, I was teetering on the edge of ramen profitable - with very little ramen and very little revenue growth. I seriously considered quitting, and in retrospect, there was really no compelling evidence indicating that I shouldn't quit. Today, my company is doing quite well - we are 100% bootstrapped, profitable, high seven figures of revenue, 34 employees, and good continued growth prospects. Looking back on 2009, I still feel like I should have quit at that point; I got lucky by sticking it out. I got lucky because I found it easier to muster the courage to keep trying than muster the courage to walk away. I almost quit too soon, and every day I feel incredibly lucky that I didn't.

lquist 12y ago
Thanks for sticking with InQuicker! It's a great product!

suzyperplexus 12y ago

I've regretted leaving a startup at the time I did. I was miserable, but probably could've stuck in there for 10 months if I'd seen the liquidity event that was coming. In my experience, most early founders don't quit because they're discouraged by lack of traction. That's why advisors and investors quit. Founders quit because of a difference of opinion around product vision and because relationships are just plain broken. One of my colleagues put it this way, "If you look at the people around you and feel sad because you're helping people you hate (who you used to like) win, that's when you need to quit."

colmvp 12y ago

One of my ex-coworkers didn't like working at a specific startup and didn't think they'd be profitable, so he ended up moving to another. However, had he remained with that startup for a few more years, he would've made over $15 million in stock options. Yeah, he's a little sour on that lol

clubhi 12y ago

I quit my startup too soon. After being gone for a month I realized that I had made a huge mistake. Thankfully one email that hinted I wanted to come back had me back in the office the next day.