Most founders wait for the “perfect moment” to leave their job. They want maximum security, maximum traction, maximum certainty. None of those things exist. But there's a validation move that reduces the risk enough to actually make the leap.
Gilles Bertaux and his three co-founders built Livestorm as their university capstone project. They had two months to build something, get users, and present it to a panel. The night before presentation day, they made a decision. They would livestream all the student presentations using their own prototype. Hundreds of people connected remotely. Everyone loved it. Even their former internship bosses watched and told them to skip the job hunt and pursue this full-time instead.
That validation moment changed everything. They were young with no mortgages or kids. The risk was minimal. So they went for it.
The principle here is simple: validation happens before you quit, not after.
How They Did It
1. Build something small and real (not a survey or deck)
Livestorm was a university project, so the pressure was low and the timeline was short. Two months. They didn't spend a year perfecting it. They built the simplest version that could do the job. For Gilles, that meant a browser-based webinar tool where you didn't need to download anything.
The key insight: people don't validate ideas with surveys. They validate with usage. When your prototype solves an actual problem, real people will use it even if it's rough.
2. Put it in front of people without asking them to commit to buying
On presentation day, Livestorm wasn't a product yet. It was a utility for the event. Hundreds of people connected not because Livestorm was selling them something. They connected because the student presentations were being streamed. The product validated itself through usage.
For early-stage validation, this is the move: embed your solution into something your customers already want to do.
3. Listen for unsolicited enthusiasm
Gilles didn't have to ask people to like it. Former bosses reached out unprompted saying “don't get a job, pursue this instead.” That's the signal you're looking for. Not “this is interesting.” Not “maybe you should try this.” Actual people saying “you should bet on this over a salary.”
4. Accept that you're ready when you have momentum, not certainty
By the end of presentation day, Gilles knew three things: people used the product without friction, people got value from it without being asked, and people would recommend it unprompted. That's the threshold for quitting your job. Not traction in revenue. Not millions of users. Genuine adoption from real people.
What Trips Up Founders
Most founders confuse validation with either zero risk or massive traction. The first is impossible. The second takes years.
The mistake: waiting until you have enough revenue to live on. Many founders think they need to reach some revenue milestone, like $5K per month, before they can justify leaving their job. That's not validation; that's avoiding the decision. Livestorm had zero revenue at presentation day. But they had something better. They had proof that people wanted what they built, without being sold.
The second mistake: treating your “beta testers” like they represent real market demand. Livestorm's initial users were literally captive audience at a school presentation. They weren't in the market for a webinar tool. They were watching student presentations. That lack of intent actually made the validation stronger. The product was so easy to use and valuable that people engaged without needing to be sold.
When This Doesn't Work
This validation move fails if you're building something that nobody actually uses without friction. If you have to explain it, demo it, or convince people to try it, you don't have validation yet. Keep your job.
It also fails if you're in a field where building a prototype is impossible. For something like enterprise software or regulated industries, you need to talk to real customers first, not build.
The Question
Before you quit, ask yourself this: “If I removed the sales pitch, would people still want to use this?”
If the answer is no, keep your job and keep building. If the answer is yes, you know what to do.
You'll know within weeks.