12 Things You Can Do to Advance Your Startup While Maintaining Your Day Job
And answering the question “When is the right time to quit”?
The idea for my first business came to me in January of 2014. I was working with my 6th manufacturing client at McKinsey, and realized the fundamental behaviors driving the problem we were there to solve mirrored the previous 5 companies almost to the “t”.
My engineering brain went into overdrive, and I began thinking of what a technology platform would look like that could both address and improve those behaviors.
As the idea took shape in my brain, I pitched it to 2–3 friends at the client and received extremely positive feedback. This feedback was enough that I immediately decided I should pursue the idea full time. I considered those few conversations the full extent of my market research.
I’d never started a business before, but I knew 2 things. First, I knew it was hard, and second, I knew it took all of one's time/attention to pursue. Thus, I began plotting my exit from McKinsey.
Without any declared goals or specific milestones to hit first, I determined at that moment I would leave McKinsey in 12 months. In 1 year, I would quit my job, and go full time — which in my mind, going full time was the only way to…
