How should I continue?

I am a solo founder for a SaaS platform. We are a team of 4. I am paying salaries to 3 people (2 developers 1 analytics person). We have been developing 2 years and I have managed to get several clients that pay for the continued development. The potential is huge too, but product development just takes a lot longer than anticipated. We achieved break even but in the end there is no money left to pay for my living costs. The problem is that my previous business which provided my income has suffered a lot by the hours I put into the new venture and I was forced to move into a smaller apartment. I also feel very isolated now as I don’t have the funds to do any social activities and I am afraid that if I fail I won’t be able to get back into the job market as a failed founder.

I am now thinking to get a job and trying to manage the developers etc. in my evening hours until the business shows more stable revenue and growth. Would it be a good idea to put on my CV that I worked in a leading position at my own startup ? Are recruiters o.k to see that someone runs a business on the side ? Or should I say that I am the founder but failed?

I would like to get your opinions on this.

Why don’t you just fire the analytics person?

Anonymous says:

December 20, 2015 at 2:01 am

Yes, fire the analytics person. Doesn’t make sense to keep someone else and you get another job.

Reply
- Anonymous says:
  
  December 20, 2015 at 1:45 pm
  
  +1
  
  Reply
- Anonymous says:
  
  December 20, 2015 at 9:20 pm
  
  Yes I was thinking of firing the analytics person would certainly gain a bit of profit but I only pay him 900 USD / month. He is doing a good job and if I keep him I might get him to help me with keeping the startup running while I am working on a normal job.
  
  Reply

It all depends on where you are. In Silicon Valley of course failure is an honor badge, in certain Asian countries, less so. In general companies frown on full time employees doing moonlighting work but your other option is to do contracting – in that case employers tend to care less since they’re just paying for your hours.

Anonymous says:

December 20, 2015 at 9:23 pm

I am based in Germany. I agree – contracting would pose less of a problem. The thing is that I tried it already and these contract jobs are usually paid a lot worse than what I would get with a normal job. The interim jobs with good pay usually require a consulting proflie beforehand (which I don’t have).

Reply

I am a believer in clients funding product development. Since you have a couple of clients, you know you’ve achieved minimum viable product.

I’d halt product development, let one developer go, and offer the second part time maintenance and support contract. Then I’d sell the hell outta the product you have until you can afford to perform product enhancements.

The key in my mind is if you have some clients willing to pay money for what you’ve got now, you can get more.