Essay · ~10 min read

Startup lesson learned: Don't quit your job before there is interest in your product

Eddie Forson · Indie Hackers Free Beginner

This is a founder writing honestly after quitting too early, burning 18 months and his savings, then going back to a job and bootstrapping again in the mornings and evenings. It moves the quit decision off gut feeling and onto concrete signals: a clear problem, real user interest, and paying customers before you leave. Read it as a starting point for setting your own trigger, not as a rule.

• Do not quit with no product, no articulated problem, no customers, and no audience: get demonstrated market interest first.
• A workable trigger is paying customers with low churn plus a repeatable way to acquire more, not just savings in the bank.
• Building on the side while employed is slower but far less risky, and it keeps you honest about whether anyone actually wants what you are making.