We plan to bring eChai across 100 cities in India. It starts with eChai Startup Demo Day on 26 September, all in person. 13 cities confirmed, 675 founders registered. Any city that reaches 20 interested founders is on too. See your city

Making the leap

Quit smart: runway, timing, and family buy-in.

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Should I take a job first or start a startup right now? If you're young, undercapitalized, and thin on skills, take the job, but pick a fast-growing startup, not a comfy corporate seat, because you learn... Beginner 2 resources → How much personal savings or runway should I have before I quit? Aim for 12 to 18 months of bare-bones personal expenses in the bank before you go full-time, not months of your current lifestyle, months of your s... Beginner 2 resources → How do I know if my idea is actually worth quitting my job for? An idea is worth quitting for when real strangers pull it out of your hands, they pay, pre-order, or won't stop asking for it, not when your friend... Intermediate 2 resources → If the startup fails, how do I explain the gap to future employers? Stop calling it a gap, it's a founder role, and you frame it exactly like any other job: what you built, what you learned, what you owned end-to-en... Beginner 2 resources → Should I quit as a solo founder or wait until I have a co-founder locked in? Do not quit your job to go hunting for a co-founder; that is the most expensive way to run a search. Quit solo only if you can carry the company al... Intermediate 3 resources → Everyone I know says quitting is reckless. How do I handle non-founder friends and family who think I'm making a mistake? Stop seeking permission from people who have never done this; a salaried relative genuinely cannot assess startup risk, so their fear is real but t... Beginner 3 resources → How do I make the leap when I have an education loan or a home loan EMI to service? Do not quit until your fixed monthly obligations are covered by liquid runway for the full time you plan to build; a founder cannot afford a bounce... Intermediate 3 resources → As a woman founder, how do I navigate family, marriage, and safety pressures specific to making this leap in India? Name the real constraints instead of pretending they do not exist: family expectations around marriage, timing, mobility, and safety are heavier fo... Intermediate 3 resources →

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