Should I leave my $180K product role to launch a B2B SaaS in legal-ops automation?
1. Executive Scorecard
PROCEED — but not yet at full commitment. The opportunity is real; the readiness is not. Run a 60-day proof phase before resigning.
2. Strategic Diagnosis
You have validated demand without validating delivery. Eleven buyer conversations confirm a real pain in legal-ops, but you have not packaged the offer, priced it, or stress-tested whether you can deliver it solo. Quitting now converts a high-probability bet into a forced one — you trade leverage for urgency.
3. Primary Violation™
If you proceed as-is: If you proceed as-is, you will burn 4–6 months of runway before discovering you need a technical co-founder, lose negotiating leverage with early customers, and likely return to W-2 employment with a damaged narrative.
4. Risk Register (Top 5, Ranked)
- 1No signed letters of intent — 11 conversations is interest, not commitment.
- 2No co-founder or technical lead; you cannot ship the v1 alone in <90 days.
- 3Personal runway covers 7 months; you need 12+ for a B2B sales cycle.
- 4Pricing assumption ($1.2K/mo) is untested — likely off by 2–3×.
- 5No fallback offer; if SaaS fails, you have nothing to monetize the audience.
5. Decision Cost Analysis™
Resign now: ~$45K opportunity cost in salary + benefits over 90 days, 60–70% probability of needing to re-enter the job market in 9–12 months.
Run a 60-day moonlight proof phase: $0 financial cost, ~10 hrs/week, raises evidence quality from 'interest' to 'paid pilot'.
Stay in role indefinitely: continued $0 progress on the opportunity, ~$80K compounded opportunity cost per year, identity erosion.
6. Executive Priority™ — Your One Move This Week
Convert 3 of your 11 conversations into signed paid pilots ($500–$2K each) within the next 30 days while still employed. Pilots are the only evidence that matters.
7. Execution Plan
- • Write a one-page offer document with a fixed price and 30-day scope.
- • Email all 11 prior conversations with the offer and a 15-min booking link.
- • Convert 3 conversations into paid pilots at $500–$2K each.
- • Build the minimum manual delivery (no code) to fulfill pilot #1.
- • Track time-to-deliver and willingness-to-pay signal per pilot.
- • Convert at least 1 pilot into a $1K+/mo retainer contract.
- • Decide: resign with 2+ retainers + 12 months runway, OR shelve and stay.
- • If go: hire a fractional engineer using pilot revenue.
8. Kill Criteria
- Stop if zero pilots convert within 45 days — demand is weaker than you think.
- Stop if pilot delivery takes >40 hrs/week — solo path is not viable.
- Stop if pricing falls below $400/mo — unit economics will not survive.