
Ask HN: How to tell if it's the right time to quit a job and work on an app? - throwawayasker1
Background: I just graduated university. I have an idea for an app and I&#x27;ve done some surveying to people that seemed to validate my hypothesis. I have also shown a prototype to my friends and family and have gotten some great positive feedback. However, my first full time job is going to start soon.<p>How can I tell if it&#x27;s the right time to continue with my app, or should I just work at my full time job for some time?
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itamarst
1\. Friends and family will always tell you your app is good. You need to do
customer validation. [http://momtestbook.com/](http://momtestbook.com/) is a
good book on the subject.

2\. Do some quick math: how many copies will you need to sell to cover your
living expenses? If this is a mobile app you sell for $5, it's going to be a
huge number.

3\. How are you at marketing? If you have no experience at marketing you're
basically relying on luck. And this is small business marketing, not "I'm a
giant company doing branding" marketing, which is all you're likely to learn
in school.

If you're just graduating you probably have few responsibilities. So find a
job that isn't all-consuming, learn marketing and work on your app in your
spare time.

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kjksf
A real validation happens when people start using your app. Better yet, paying
you for it.

You can discard 100% of what your friends and family say - they are not in the
business of crushing your dreams.

Release your app, install basic analytics so that you know how many people are
using it. Put a price on it to see if people are willing to pay for it.

Full time job is not an impediment to working on your app. Yes, it's going to
be harder, but I wrote lots of code and shipped a couple of apps while working
full time.

As to when to quit - it mostly depends on your level of optimism and
willingness to take risks.

Personally, I would wait until I have a steadily growing number of users for
the app.

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sebleon
If you're not sure, try out the job and see if you like it. It's easy to quit
later if you realize you'd rather spend your life working on your app.

Before leaving my last job, I was pulling all nighters working on a side
project. I'd show up to work super sleepy and take naps in the meeting room. I
put in notice after about week, realizing this wasn't fair to my employer,
since I had no intention of slowing down with my app.

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saluki
Start listening to StartUpsForTheRestOfUs.com.

Get some work experience and save some money. Build it on the side (if you
can/allowed per company policies/contract).

Does your new job allow you to work on side projects? If you work on a project
on your own time and own hardware do you own it and the IP. Check your
contract/signed documents.

Good luck.

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ishener
ask yourself this: do you have any money?

