Ask HN: Laid off –> solo founder. Do I look like I'm trying to hide something?

No one cares. Just go for it.

As a hiring manager at a big tech company, I would probably just be a bit jealous of your decision :)

I'm planning to quit to devote myself to a project that's been in the incubation phase.

I'm a bit unclear on why you think it might be considered a bad thing by prospective employers in the future.

Taking a project from the ideation phase to proof of concept to a product ready for end-users demonstrates follow-through, as well as the ability to manage all stages of the software lifecycle that don't involve team dynamics.

I figure it's more likely to be a selling point than something that would detract from my candidacy.