Online Event
How to Start an AI Startup Without Quitting Your Job
Build an AI startup around your day job, until it's ready to become the day job.
Date
Oct 14, 2026
Time
03:00 am - 04:00 am
Address
Online Event
Leaving a stable job can feel like the price of entry for starting a company. For most first-time founders it is the wrong first step. Research on founders who kept their jobs while starting found they were less likely to fail than those who quit first.
This session shows how to build on nights and weekends: what to work on in the first months, how to keep your side project separate from your job, and which signals say it is time to go full time.
Register now and start with the job you already have.
What You'll Learn:
- What to work on in your first months when you only have nights and weekends
- How AI tools let one person with a full-time job make real progress
- How to keep your side project clear of your employer's time and equipment
- Which signals tell you it is time to go full time
- How structured, part-time programs fit around a day job
Who Should Attend:
- Employed professionals with an idea and no plan to quit yet
- People who want to test a startup before taking a financial risk
- Aspiring founders with family or financial commitments
- Anyone who has put off starting because they cannot leave their job
Additional Resources: For more information about the investors, accelerators, incubators, and tech events available in Japan, see our list of Startup Resources. Short on time? Our AI Skills for founders handle idea validation, pitch decks and go-to-market plans in a fraction of the time. Want a program built around a day job? Read the FI program overview.
About Founder Institute: The Founder Institute is the World's Largest AI-Native Company Builder, giving idea-stage, first-time founders, and employees making the leap to entrepreneurship the tools, global network, and proven methodology to build an AI-powered startup from zero to funding. Since 2009, our structured programs have helped over 9,000 founders across 100 countries raise more than $2BN in funding. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 6 continents, our mission is to empower talented and motivated people everywhere to build impactful, AI-powered companies.
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