Is it a bad idea to try to build a product while being employed full time?

What's cool about entrepreneurship today, is that it's really easy to get started with little effort. Obviously you are the only person who can define what your limits are, but I'm sure you should have at least 5-6 hours a week to work on something. This will be enough time to at least validate a product, and possibly even get a handful of customers. It's at this point where you will need to make the hard decision of leaving your job, or continue hacking a few hours a week.

If you know 100% that you want to be an entrepreneur, I'd highly recommend looking at consulting. This is by far the easiest way to have the best of both worlds. With a consulting gig you get decent income, and can set your own hours so you have plenty of time to work on your hustle. Jumping into consulting is a lot of work, and a hustle in itself. But I've found it's the best way to stay afloat while still being able to devote a good chunk of time to your project(s).

I'm doing it part-time. I'm lucky, I work 20 hours a week for the previous company I had started and after 4 years left. After two years of trying to do my current startup full-time, I started running out of money so therefore the part-time thing now. The rest of the time (30-40h) I work for my current company.

Btw, a short plug that fits the topic: I'm starting a side project to help other founders also find a part-time job with companies who understand the value of having people with an indie hacker mindest on-board. If you're interested (it's free), shoot me an email (you can my email in my profile).

Another idea to consider: leave your job to consult full-time first? I specifically left my job at Palantir to start consulting/freelancing full-time and ultimately created Studio Flurry. It's a hustle to get started, but I knew I wanted more flexibility and control over my schedule so it's been worth it. Now, I'm able to work on interested projects and spend more time on my own endeavors. Sometimes I miss the structure, predictability, and community that comes with a full-time role, but overall I've found other ways to maintain this; however, it really depends on your personality and lifestyle, as others have mentioned. Only you can really assess what's the best path.

I tried all 3 options. Full time job, full time hacking and part-time consulting gig.

I still can't tell you which one is the best, it depends heavily on your circumstances.

There are times when you need to go all in, there are times when you can easily juggle a full-time job (depends on the job of course), and there are other times when you want to earn just enough money to support your passion for hacking.

That said, I would suggest starting the work on your product while you're still employed. At least you'll know what you're quitting your job for.

I started building my product when I was contracting elsewhere.

Don't burnout, but you do need to give it some hours.

I rarely wear shoes to work :P

Right now I'm hesitating between working for a few months or a year, to save money, then work full-time on my product, or doing both at the same time.

Doing both at the same time at the beginning makes the most sense.

Clock in around 2 hours an evening and a day at the weekend, and in 6 months time you'll have put in about 500 hours, which should get you to a point where you know what to do next.

All the while, the job has allowed you to stack up enough cash to give you months of runway if you do decide to jump in full time.

In terms of "limits", I think you have to be slightly obsessed to succeed at business. But some people get more done in a 30 hour week than others do in 90 hours, so it's all about focusing on the right things and delivering.

Best of luck!

There's no right answer. You have to look at your life and figure out what is the best decision. Your age, your responsibility, your savings, safety net, opportunity cost to shipping late, opportunity cost in lost earnings and maybe getting back into the job market. Tons of variables. Rarely are 2 people ever the same. So do a pro/con analysis and figure it out. Bootstrapping can take time, can you survive for 2 years? Consider reducing hours, working part-time, partnering up, etc.

For me, I'm working full time and will until I can get something going. I have a family to take care of. Shelter, transportation, health insurance, daycare, diapers, milk, food, you get the idea? I'm also "old" and getting back into the work force after having a gap would put me at a disadvantage, so for me it makes sense to have FTE. Best of luck with your decisions.