Why I Quit My Job to Work on My Startup Full-Time

January 19, 2026

Last month I got my first customer for PlaneQuery.com, which gave me the confidence to quit my job today. See The Journey to PlaneQuery.com's First Customer.

It’s hard to make a dollar with a startup, let alone a living. The most likely outcome is that I’ll work on PlaneQuery for a year or so, burn through my savings, and then have to get a real job again. The money itself is immaterial to me. I’m 23, single, own a reliable car, and prefer living with roommates. There is nothing I want to buy.

I never worried about money. I grew up in a middle-class family, so I never thought I would starve. And I learned at Atari that I could be an okay engineer, so I always knew I could get by.  — Steve Jobs

What about women? In my experience attractive 23-year-old women care about attractiveness and personality, same as men. Beyond being able to pay for dinner money doesn’t matter. Because statistics is hard and full of pitfalls, I’m drawing this conclusion from personal experience rather than data. That said, according to data on Gen Z the worst job for getting married is a STEM job!

From ChatGPT 5.2 Deep Research https://chatgpt.com/share/6958a794-83cc-800b-bc7f-156fb3a56d6c:

Category18192021222324252627
Men – STEM0%0%0%1%3%6%10%15%20%25%
Men – Non-STEM0%1%4%8%13%18%23%27%30%33%
Women – STEM0%0%2%5%9%14%20%25%30%33%
Women – Non-STEM1%2%6%12%18%25%32%38%42%45%

Occupation Category (Men)18192021222324252627
Management0%0%1%3%6%10%14%18%22%22%
Business & Financial0%0%1%2%5%8%12%16%21%25%
Computer & Mathematical (STEM)0%0%1%3%5%8%12%16%20%20%
Architecture & Engineering (STEM)0%0%1%3%6%9%13%18%18%22%
Life, Physical & Social Science (STEM)0%0%1%2%4%6%9%13%13%18%
Community & Social Service0%0%2%4%8%12%18%22%26%30%
Legal (Lawyers, etc.)0%0%0%2%4%6%9%12%15%15%
Education & Library0%0%0%3%10%15%20%24%29%30%
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Media0%0%2%4%8%12%17%21%25%25%
Healthcare Practitioners & Technical0%0%1%3%6%10%15%20%20%20%
Healthcare Support0%0%3%6%10%15%20%24%28%30%
Protective Service (Police, Fire, etc.)0%0%2%5%9%14%19%23%26%28%
Food Preparation & Serving0%0%2%5%9%13%17%20%23%25%
Building & Grounds Maintenance0%0%3%7%12%17%22%26%28%30%
Personal Care & Service0%0%2%6%11%16%20%23%26%28%
Sales & Related0%0%1%4%8%12%16%19%22%25%
Office & Administrative Support0%0%2%5%10%15%20%24%27%30%
Farming, Fishing & Forestry0%1%4%8%15%22%28%33%37%40%
Construction & Extraction0%0%3%7%13%19%25%29%33%35%
Installation, Maintenance & Repair0%0%3%7%12%18%23%27%30%33%
Production (Manufacturing)0%0%2%6%11%17%22%26%29%32%
Transportation & Material Moving0%0%1%5%10%16%21%25%28%30%
Armed Forces (Military)1%5%10%15%22%30%36%40%43%45%

More money doesn’t improve my life. What I enjoy most is working on my company. Some people can build a very successful company in a year working part-time. I can get one customer. To maximize my chances of success and my happiness, I’m doing this full-time.