Should you get a job or keep hacking solo?
Hey Everyone,
I've been having a bit of a dilemma recently and curious what others' thoughts are and how you've tackled similar challenges.
I left my job a while ago to take some personal time but since then, for the last several months I've been trying to hack away at building my own venture/startup. I know I very much would like to be my own boss and build something of my own but I've been struggling recently.
Despite hacking away on various ideas/projects (whether ideating, interviewing or doing basic coding) - I've found the work quite isolating (basically WFH all day on these ideas and burning cash/runway). I've found myself constantly either procrastinating or hesitating because I don't have a sounding board/cofounder to work with which I find makes a big difference, all the while cash/savings continues to burn since I'm not working.
My question is, do you think its worth going back into the workforce, meeting people and earning a paycheck again and attempt indie hacking as a side gig or do you suggest continuing down the current path of trying to find/start a project/startup and push through these challenges (no cofounder/isolation, etc).
Thoughts?
I struggled with this for a while. Finding a cofounder would be ideal, but you also shouldn't rush into a cofounder. I'm also a solo founder and taking my time looking for a cofounder. Some things that I found to have helped me in the mean time:
Network and go to meetups. Spend time with other founders. It'll help with the isolation, you'll need to do it for your business anyway, and it does provide some motivation to making progress so you'll have something to talk about.
Get an MVP out ASAP. It gives you a reason to go talk to more people. Even if the feedback is bad, it'll still be helpful for the direction of your product AND help with the social isolation.
Take breaks. Go on walks. Relax and let yourself think about your ideas in a calm manner. It'll result in better ideas.
I'm a developer so it's been possible for me to find part time gigs. It helps reduce the anxiety of burning through cash and gives me time to focus on product.
If you really find yourself struggling to work on your idea, maybe it is the wrong idea. I gave up on one idea after 2 years of working on it because I realized I wasn't enjoying it. I think there is still a market for it, but I am not the founder to go after that market. I am instead working on an idea where I am my own user. Every feature I build, I can also use. That helps give me a sense of accomplishment and keeps me motivated.
Hope this helps.
Thanks beekey! This is great advice. One question I was curious about, you mentioned working for 2 years on an idea before pivoting. Were you working on this idea full time for 2 years or part time? If not did you feel like those 2 years were “lost” or wasted because of opportunity cost (working somewhere else), pivoting to another idea sooner? I’m sure the experience was with it at least !
I had a full time job for the first 1.5 years. I quit partially because I wanted to have more time to work on it. Turned out, I didn't actually get that much more done. Lots of reasons for this, but it helped me decide that that wasn't the project for me.
None of that time was "wasted". I have a ton of experience building products, but very little building companies, marketing, networking, etc. Most of what I learned was during the 6 months that I tried to go full time on it and all of that knowledge was transferable to my new venture.
I'm actually glad I didn't pivot to a new idea sooner. I had thought about quitting for weeks, but I kept going on the old idea because I was still learning even if I knew I wasn't going to succeed. It gave me time to think about a new idea in a relaxed manner rather than rushing it. What I'm working now is much better than anything I would have come up with if I tried to force ideas to appear.
About burning money and anxiety: Yes, a part time gig should help with that;
Loneliness: Work in a co-working space; Improve your personal life; go out with friends more often;
Lack of focus and motivation: This seems to be the main issue here; you can get back to normal work but that won't fix this; try to find out what you really want exactly and why; and then work on to achieve that for real. If you don't fix this you won't build anything.
It's possible that you just didn't find a problem/solution that excites you yet; it's also possible that you want the lifestyle of a successful indie hacker but is not ready or willing to pay the price for it.
It's a long term game, so it may take some time before seeing satisfying results.
If you can’t sustain yourself outside of office environment and people interaction, get back to it.
You still can continue doing things on the side, and when you see something gaining traction you can leave and focus. And you will have some funds for runway.
It would be a terrible shame to just burn all the cash you’ve saved. You may regret it when you’ll need it for something real.
I am in the same spot. I would love to have a cofounder, but I am not comfortable reaching out to the small number of people who would be eligible.
Here is a post with tons of great advice for when I asked a similar question:
https://www.indiehackers.com/forum/how-best-to-solve-the-solo-side-of-solopreneurship-472c254c0a
I prefer the stability of a full-time job. Nights and weekends provide enough time to quickly test side projects. When one works out, I may quit my full-time job.
Answering the same question myself currently. I’ve gotten over the mental hurdle of working with a team again, but I’m opting to explore mainly remote roles. (Done it for years, so it still helps me to keep the indie mindset of building at home)
Unless you are seeing traction with an idea and the potential to turn a profit or raise money in the near future, it is never good to burn your savings.
Get back to your job, there are two reasons 9-5 folks leave their job and startup.
They have a solid idea with paying customers and want more time to take it to scale
They like the romantic thought of earning for your own, working on your own terms
If you fall in the second, get back to work ASAP. Most successful founders I've met either built their business working part time or were freelancers/ran an agency starting off from a young age. It's a lonely road, think of it this way if you have a stable paycheck you can take bigger risks with your startup idea?
Everyone's circumstance, personality, motivation, habits and financial situation is different, so there is probably no generic answer to your question.
If starting a startup/venture is still what you really (really) want, then don't let your first bumps on the road stop you.
Also, you are right, a like minded co-founder makes a huge difference (it like having a workout partner at the gym, is a huge motivation factor.). Your profile says you are in SF, so there are many like-minded people in here. With so many meetups or events (my startup even hosted a few meetups at our office), go and meet people. It also helps get out of the house if you are working from home. Often meetups have free beer and food even if you don't meet your co-founder the first time!!!
Thanks! Yes, meeting people is definitely something top of mind. I've found with potential cofounders, most of them are already working so incentives/effort are usually not aligned from experience. Separately, the 'wisdom' i've heard in the valley is to partner with people you've worked with or have a relationship with. That said, i'm definitely gonna keep pursuing that avenue.
What type of business are you trying to start?
what are your current skills. Can you freelance part time?
Most of skillset is product focused, i've also started to code over the last ~6 months (with modern frameworks/languages) so i've been growing that skillset as well to help me build side projects as well.