PART 5: Do The Time Painful truth: It’ll take years longer than you want. Any expectations you have about how long it will take, or how hard it will be, are pretty much guaranteed to be wildly off. But it’s worth it. You Need 24 Months To Get Off The Ground I meet with great VPs of Sales and Product who are Ready. It's time. To go out on their own and start their own SaaS companies. Awesome. I get it. I’d like to recruit you to be a VP at one of my companies, but I get it. Working for The Man can be a great way to make money in the interim, support your family, and get paid to learn. But no one who’s truly ambitious wants to work for The Man forever. I mean, not really. If you’re wondering if you should start your own SaaS company, here are three to ask yourself: First: Are you prepared to give it a full 24­month commitment to hit Initial Traction? Not 12 months. Not 18 months. But 24 months? Two years? Six months isn't enough. Twelve isn't. It’s going to take you 9 to 12 months just to get the product right. And another 6 to 12 to get significant revenues.