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, 716 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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I have deep expertise but no startup skills, what do I learn first? You don't need 'startup expertise', you need expertise in your users, which you may already have. Learn just enough to talk to customers, ship a ro... Beginner 2 resources → How do I keep my health insurance and financial safety net after I quit my corporate job in India? The day you resign, your employer group health cover ends, so buy a personal family floater (at least 10 lakh) two to three months BEFORE you quit,... Beginner 3 resources → How do I quit gracefully without burning bridges I will need as a founder? Serve your full notice, document a clean handover, and tell your manager the real reason (you are starting up) rather than inventing a fake offer; ... Beginner 3 resources → I'm on an H-1B or work visa abroad. How do I make the leap back to India to start up? You cannot found and actively run a company on an H-1B, so stop trying to do it quietly on the side and make a real decision: either move back to I... Advanced 3 resources → How do I get my first paying customer BEFORE I quit, so I have real proof and not just belief? Sell before you quit; a signed pilot or one paying customer is worth more than any amount of market research and it is the single best de-risker of... Intermediate 3 resources → Is it smarter to negotiate a sabbatical or a notice extension instead of a clean quit? Ask for a sabbatical or a longer runway on your terms before you resign outright, because a 3 to 6 month leave gives you a real trial run with a gu... Intermediate 3 resources → I'm 40+ with kids and a mortgage. Is it too late, or too irresponsible, to make the leap now? It is neither: the average successful founder is closer to 40 than 25, and your decade of domain depth, network, and savings is exactly the runway ... Intermediate 3 resources →

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