Any full-time indies here? How did you know when to quit your job?
Any advice for someone who hates their job and wants to go full-time? I know I don't have to take that blind leap but also feel like I'll never be able to quit if I don't give certain decisions.
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Today’s media often celebrates the blind leap, but I believe in scoping out the terrain before you jump.
After college, I spent five years working as a programmer for a New York media company. That’s where I got the idea for Jotform. But long before I wrote my resignation letter, I started taking small steps toward my goal. I prepared the soil.
Startup culture has made the term “day job” feel like a four-letter word, but I think that’s misguided, not to mention discouraging for millions of awesome employees.
The five years I spent working at the media company were invaluable. Not only did I gain so many important (and directly applicable) skills, but I also discovered how to stay productive and communicate well. I watched how my mentors accomplished their goals, which helped me immensely when I was suddenly adrift, without a schedule or a boss looking over my shoulder.
Even negative experiences were valuable. For example, I saw co-workers struggle with old computers and slow connections. That seemed like wasted potential. I also realized that most people work better when they have some flexibility.
Few product people — especially developers and other creatives, like designers — thrive in a heavily prescriptive environment. I know I certainly don’t. Many of these lessons translated directly into Jotform — and they still influence how our team operates today.
Never underestimate what you can learn and accomplish in a 9-to-5 position.
It can be so much more than a paycheck; the time you give to another company can teach you how to work effectively, spark new project ideas, and give you confidence to tackle that big startup idea.
Most underrated fact that never gets highlighted usually.
This is something everyone should respect and understand. While we all love indiehacking, there is so much more to learn from working for someone for a few years atleast.
Exactly. And playing the long game.
Love this: scope out the terrain before you jump. Thank you, Aytekin.
I scaled things down over the course of three years.
From 40 hours fulltime at a web agency to 36 hours to 32 hours to 8 hours for a freelance client to 0 hours and full time indie.
First steps to create room for development (no mind space left after 40 hour work week), last step because income from my indie products started to take off.
Rik, how long exactly did it take you to go through the whole transition?
Fully agreed. I think what I struggle with the most is the uncertainty. I want to at least have a plan for what I should do to get there and how long more or less it could take me to get there.
The uncertainty and having to do a job I'm not a big fan of is killing me.
The nice thing about scaling down from 40 to 32 hours is that it gives you some clarity and room to experiment while also still retaining (as software developer) a good enough income.
Took about four to five years I think to completely switch over.
Whoa, you must have really played the long time and keep patient then. I will probably start considering scaling down. Why go black or white when you can get there organically. Many thanks!
We worked on EmailOctopus during evenings and weekends until we saw there was significant traction, as we had commitments such as mortgages and very little savings to fall back on. We originally mutually agreed we'd go full-time at $120k ARR. But ended up going part-time around $60k ARR, contracting 2/3 days a week to cover any shortfall in salary.
Bootstrapping doesn't need to be a do/die. It's worth speaking to your employers as to whether they'll consider flexible working or looking out for short-term contracting gigs to soften the blow.
We made the transition from employee to founders without really losing a significant amount of annual income.
Super useful. Yeah, I think flexible working is something I will definitely have to consider. Do you think it's a risk, though? I'm a little unsure how my employer would react. How did you bring it up with your employer? How did the conversations go for you, e.g., how did the part-time thing happen?
If you have flexibility then stay at your day job. I personally worked for a FAANG company that prohibited all side projects and would claim any IP so I was forced to leave
did it work out for you in the end?
Build your product and get 10 paying customers. Then quit.
guess it also depends on how much I'm charging so I can cover my essential expenses at least
I am late to the party, but will add my 2 cents here in case someone chances upon this thread though a Google search, like I just did.
I quit my full-time job (which I loved) a few days ago to become a full-time maker. It's something that I've always wanted to do, but finally took the leap for now. You are right in saying that you don't have to take the blind leap — I did it because I tried to side-hustle some of my projects, but I was never able to juggle both "work" and "my work". I found myself too invested in both, and I wasn't able to prioritise one over the other. I always tended to delve deep into one, and borderline ignore the other.
I quit my job even though I loved it because this was something I simply had to do. I had spent years dreaming about it, but I had to take action, and that's why I took the leap. If you are having doubts, it might be worth your while to really think about why you want to go indie:
If I can offer only one piece of advice, it would be this: minimize regret.