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Ask HN: To quit or not to quit?

11 points by phlcastro ↗ HN
Hi HN,

I have a SaaS startup and by know we already have around 10 customers, that can't eve pay ours costs. But in the other hand it gave me the confidence we have a product and a market for it. Today I have a day job and can give only a few hours a week to my own company. But I have thia feeling that if I could spend my entire day on this project I could grow much faster.

I would like to hear your experience of when and how you decide to give up your day job to dedicate yourself to your own business.

Thanks

14 comments

[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 205 ms ] thread
michaelpinto
For each person it's different, but some factors to think of:

- Do you have several months of living expenses put away? I did this and it made leaving much more easy knowing I had money n the bank.

- Do you have decent enough skills that if you failed at your business that you could go back and get a job?

- Is anyone else finically depending on you right now? And this might be children, a spouse, parents, etc.

phlcastro
- yes, at least for the next 12 months - probably, and I still have oDesk option :) - yes, spouse and son

But you decide to quit before your side business generate enough profit? What kind of things did you use to evaluate your decision?

michaelpinto
Here's an approach: Put a number and a deadline on everything; this way you have a metric to hit rather than dealing with emotions.

So for example: Can you at least equal your current monthly income in X months? Make that a comfortable number so you don't run out of savings and have enough time to get a new job.

I would also have a metric on the burn rate of the company even if the overhead is low. Keep in mind you'll need to also be spending money on marketing, and the services of an accountant and the like. You don't need a 100 page business plan, but you do need a plan.

Also make sure that your spouse feels good about this, because being in a good emotional state is critical for the both of you.

phlcastro
I did something similar to it, calculated hom much time I would need to achieve the breakeven, marketing and media budget... But at the end is just a excel spreadsheet.

I was wondering if I should establish a indicator (like growth rate, revenue, etc) and just after achieve this number take the decision. Or maybe contract someone to do this sales and marketing stuff and wait until the company makes money.

michaelpinto
Don't over think it — try and keep it simple: At first it's sink or swim — then worry about gold medals.
gee_totes
What would you do with your entire day working for the company? Coding? Marketing?

So if 10 customers can't pay your costs, could 20? Could 30?

I would focus on getting to the number of customers that can make the business break even, then quit (as it seems you're a little hesitant to jump in right now)

[from here on, I'm assuming the SaaS is related to VetWork]

If you can't quit your day job b/c of financial reasons, have you thought about outsourcing the marketing work to get more customers so you can be profitable?

Or, if outsourcing the marketing work isn't a good fit, have you tried advertising? I'm not sure if that will be a good fit, a quick google search finds the ad marketplace pretty crowded, and your ROI on advertising would be low.

Do your customers love your product? How can you give them incentive them to recommend VetWork to other vets? Or, how can VetWork increase the amount of work that they (the Vets) get?

phlcastro
By now we need to focus on marketing and sales. Yes, our customers loves the product and are motivated to recommend our product. We did some experiences with Google Ads and others and the result was good (I guess...). But the problem was exactly after that... After find some leads to sell I didn't have enough time to call them and progress with the sales.

I like the strategy of wait to have enough customers to break-even. Actually a dozen of it can cover all expenses. The problem is if I quit my job and start to work on my own business. By now I'm too expensive for it.

So in your opinion, I should contract someone to help with marketing and sales and wait until the business can cover everything? This way I can set some targets like I would do if it was me...

gee_totes
Sorry for the late reply, but I think you should contract someone to to marketing/sales. I would first take a look at the market, and then develop some lead generation ideas (ad words is good, getting a booth at one of these vet conferences is another) and work the the person you contact to generate leads. The the marketing person could take over and close the sale.
gregcohn
If you can plan for a year of no net income from your business in a way that's acceptable to your family, and if you can EITHER plan for a 2nd year of modest income OR you have good contingency options (freelance work, or in the worst case scenario, giving up the startup to take corporate work), you should be sufficiently comfortable to take the plunge -- IFF you believe in the startup.

I generally view the market right now as one where developers will have no trouble finding work if they need it (albeit maybe not the perfect job if you have to do so under pressure).

I also view the market as good for startups right now. This is not always the case -- the market will undoubtedly cycle down, at least for startups trying to raise money and generate revenue.

If you have 10 customers and you can reasonably project your way to break even & profit, and if the upside of the company is substantial if it grows to a reasonable size, you should do it!

1123581321
Plot your weekly cash if you quit: your savings vs. the income (or loss) you estimate you'll receive each week. Are you comfortable with that graph? Can you keep it from hitting zero with reasonable estimates in your expense and growth figures?
phlcastro
The money is not the problem, at least for a year. My doubt is about if it's too soon to move for it and first achieve some kind of goal...
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