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How much do you think is enough?
3 years. http://friendfeed.com/paul/0268007b/how-long-does-it-take-to...
(Take this opinion with a grain of salt, I haven't done my own startup, yet.)
What are you planning to work on?
The original project exists in working order and my partners agreed to let me buy their share. I'll be building out v2 as we designed. We all took 2 weeks off in 2007 to build it, launched it, and hardly ever touched it again. v2 carries it to iPhone, iPad and starts marketing it. If I have ambition after that I've got a few quick ideas (a short e-book on an area I've developed expertise, an obscure niche how-to site…
Do not necessarily do one project at a time though. Keep a list of things you want to work on. Whenever you find yourself needing to take a break from the main project, chip away at one of the secondary projects.
You might be surprised to find the idea you deem least important actually giving you the biggest payoff.
FTFY I hope you're prepared to work at least five times harder than you did at your safe job, and for little to no guaranteed reward. Actually, if you're only giving yourself six months, make that ten times harder. I would say good luck, but considering around 90% of startups fail, work hard, be persistent and expect difficulty, seems more helpful to say. The success stories appearing on HN can give a skewed impression on how hard it is to succeed. Congratulations, though, for bucking a potential path of regrets.
Edit: A bit more advice is release early, and often. The trick is finding the balance between minimum viability and having enough value for traction. Iterating on an idea is almost always necessary, so be on the lookout for how that can help and possibly even save your endeavor. A six month deadline to succeed means you're really going to be up against it.
Congrats :) If you're in SF, let me know We have a sweet co-working space for hackers with all of the three C's: coffee, camaraderie, and a fast connection
Appreciate it. I'm actually in Austin though, and eager to meet some like-minded folks. I'll be checking out the local bootstrap chapter to start.
Also, I'm not sure if you're looking for a workspace with a lot of people in the same position, but we've really benefited from participation in the Austin Technology Incubator.
Edit: why do I say folks so much?
6 mos ain't enough, but otherwise, great idea.
I suggest that you do a few consulting gigs on the side to keep you afloat...
Congrats on your big move!
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Appreciate it. I'm actually in Austin though, and eager to meet some like-minded folks. I'll be checking out the local bootstrap chapter to start.
Love to meet Austin entrepreneurs. Send me a note and let's get coffee: LinkedIn is in my profile or marascio at gmail.
Do you have a blog?