Great post and congrats on launching your product.

As a PhD dropout, I reached the same conclusions as you but it took me a lot longer to get out due to inertia and circumstances. In the end of the day, you don’t need a PhD to do science. Do it if you find it fun and you can afford it. In the meantime, provide value to people using your product and skills.

Thank you very much! Sorry to hear that your PhD wasn't what you wanted. These days it's much easier to provide value outside of academia than inside it.