Should I quit my job to start a business
I'm 28, I make $65k as a software developer, and I have an idea for a SaaS product. I've been building it on nights and weekends for 6 months. It has about 200 users but no revenue yet. My girlfriend says I should quit and go all in. My parents say I'm crazy. I'm so confused.
1 Answer(s)
Don't quit yet. I know everyone says "follow your dreams" but the math doesn't support going all-in with 200 users and zero revenue. Here's my honest take.
You need about $10k-$15k/month in revenue before quitting is even reasonable. That's roughly 1,000 paying users at $10/month, or 200 at $50/month. At 200 total users (not paying), you're in the validation phase, not the scale phase.
Before quitting, get 10 paying customers. Not free users — paying. If you can't get 10 people to pay you even $10/month, the idea needs more work. Use this framework: talk to your 200 users, ask what they'd pay for, and try to pre-sell.
If you do quit, have 6 months of expenses saved. At $65k/year that's about $20k in the bank minimum. Running a business with no runway is how people end up back at a job in 3 months, broke and embarrassed.
Your girlfriend means well but she's not the one paying the bills. Your parents are being cautious, which is actually smart. Work on this for 6 more months while keeping your job. If you hit 50 paying users, then have this conversation again.