Founders

at what point should someone take a side hustle and make it their main hustle? is there a number to it?

simple but true

1. do some users love it? will users pay?
2. can you reliably get those users?

A couple of things to look at.
- Do you have a handful of users that really love it and are willing to pay for it.
- Do you have at least 1 distribution channel that is working to some degree or have a good plan for how you'll continue to get more customers.

what are some signs one should look for in order to verify "this is a good business and i should pursue it"

[inaudible laughter] • prev manifold.xyz, twilio.com

how much runway do you think is good vs great?

there's no one answer but money is usually the non-negotiable for folks. After that its a matter of what you want.

some questions to ask yourself:
- what's your personal burn rate & runway?
- do you have any financial or social obligations that require money (trips etc)?
- do you have savings or rev to cover them

Everyone is going to tell you the metrics you need to hit to become a “founder”. 

You should have your basic necessities covered, but look deep within yourself and ask yourself if that’s what you truly want. Then put the metrics together backwards based on your goals.

🕯️They/them. Scaled cos from 0-$300k in arr, 7-35 employees, 0-100k users. Now I make candles that give people love, joy, and delight at humankind.place

Building /stokefire a mobile strategy game onchain. Run and own poolfish.xyz a calculator for LP providers. Built Potion solo and sold for $300k.

.. it's going to be easier to make the jump. If you're not feeling that, then I wouldn't go for it yet.

Also, I think early stage businesses and ideas are really fragile. Going full time on it puts a lot of pressure on it emotionally. Which could ruin the chances of it working. Sometimes it needs time to bake.

Personally I'd focus on some revenue milestones that get you close to break even on your expenses. Even if you a little under it could give you a lot of runway with the rest of your savings.

On the biz side I think it really matters how much conviction you have that it's working. If you have a really high conviction..

I don't think there is a straight answer. Going to be different for everyone.

I think the main thing to focus on is can you do it in a way that isn't too stressful and can maintain for some time financially.

Great thing as a software dev is that you can always go back to a good job if it doesn't work out.

Assuming you can afford your life/basic needs/etc...which one allows you to spend more time with people that give you energy?

It ties to the understanding of product market fit & your own financial expectations as well. 
PMF is when your business is running pretty much on its own , stable metrics & on repeat. 
Then the question is how much money you can make scaling it up vs your main gig..