From my experience watching people trying to start a business (not as a entrepreneur since I'm also first time entrepreneur but just as an observer), I found out that it is very very hard to get traction if you have a day job.
However, during day job you can do a lot of market research and customer development and get to the point that you are confident that startup will succeed (or at least it will not fold immediately). Basically, find customers first (use demos and prototypes) then build a product.
And what I found out is that some people will actually stick with you as customers/users even if your product sucks - they believe in you. In other words, finding some normal people to believe in you and what you are doing is much easier that finding investors who believe in you.
However, during day job you can do a lot of market research and customer development and get to the point that you are confident that startup will succeed (or at least it will not fold immediately). Basically, find customers first (use demos and prototypes) then build a product.
And what I found out is that some people will actually stick with you as customers/users even if your product sucks - they believe in you. In other words, finding some normal people to believe in you and what you are doing is much easier that finding investors who believe in you.