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, 688 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 convince my spouse and family to back me quitting? Don't sell them a dream, bring them a plan: the exact runway number, the timeline, the specific milestones that mean 'keep going,' and the tripwire... Beginner 2 resources → Can I build on the side while employed without getting into legal trouble? Usually yes, but read your employment contract first, the danger is not moonlighting itself, it's the IP-assignment, non-compete, and moonlighting-... Intermediate 1 resource → 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 balance a startup with family and caregiving responsibilities? Accept upfront that a startup will try to eat your whole life, then defend the non-negotiables ruthlessly, protected hours, one full day off, hones... 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 → 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 → 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 → How do I make the leap from a well-paid MNC or FAANG job when the salary itself is the trap? The golden-handcuffs problem is real: the higher your package, the more your lifestyle and your fear scale with it, so the fix is to cut your burn ... Advanced 3 resources →

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