Podcast · ~60 min

Indie Hackers #112: From Side Project to Full-Time Founder with Tommy Griffith of ClickMinded

Courtland Allen (Indie Hackers) · Indie Hackers Podcast Free Beginner

Griffith bootstrapped ClickMinded to over 40,000 dollars a month while making the slow move from side project to full time, and he is candid that it took roughly 1000 days to replace his salary. It is a real, specific story about the timeline and the money, which is more useful than motivational advice when you are deciding whether to hold onto your job. Treat his numbers as one data point for calibrating your own runway.

  • Replacing a salary from a side project often takes years, so plan for a long overlap rather than a quick jump.
  • An email list and an audience built while employed become the acquisition channel that makes the eventual quit viable.
  • Once you get a taste of the freedom, going back to a job gets harder, so be clear-eyed about what you are trading.
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The question it answers

  1. How do I bootstrap a company while I still have a full-time job, and when is it actually time to quit?

Read with it

  1. Most startup books assume you want to raise, hire, and scale, which quietly pressures you to quit early and go big. Jarvis... Penguin Books Book · ~272 pages Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business Paul Jarvis
  2. This is a founder writing honestly after quitting too early, burning 18 months and his savings, then going back to a job and... Indie Hackers Essay · ~10 min read Startup lesson learned: Don't quit your job before there is interest in your product Eddie Forson
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