I work a couple of hours every few days, and try to get at least 8 in on the weekends. I've got a wife and kid and a FT job in a management capacity so it's tough, but I'm seeing progress.
Ask YC: Are you working part-time on your startup/project/idea?
31–40 of 46 posts
Re: Ask YC: Are you working part-time on your startup/project/idea?
#32I've been thinking about this startup 2yrs and 1/2 ago now - started design & planning while i was student, then got a FT job, convinced a friend to join me in the meantime...
My teamate worked non-stop on it only 1yr ago, mainly coding the application - i was dedicating early mornings and late nights + weekends at it.
Re: Ask YC: Are you working part-time on your startup/project/idea?
#33Straight out of college when I was 23 I was working on a startup idea with a friend. we each had jobs, but they were very different. I was working as a mortgage broker (back then it was a good business) and my friend was working at a restaurant. I would get off work at 5 or so and my co-founder left work at 11-12. So 4 nights a week we would meet at kinko's at 1am and work until about 4 am together. I would sleep for…
And how did your company do ? :)
Re: Ask YC: Are you working part-time on your startup/project/idea?
#34I work some weeknights, plus large chunks of the weekends. I get maybe 10-20 hours a week on the project. I find this approach quite frustrating, though: you get totally in the zone and then it's time to go to bed because you have work the next day. Also, I find that I no longer have so much energy for volunteering or writing music or socialising. I knew that doing a start-up meant saying goodbye to your life, but I didn't realise that sacrifice would have to be made so early.
Re: Ask YC: Are you working part-time on your startup/project/idea?
#352hrs/day * 2 ppl for 2 months == http://unripped.com (OpenID-based file storage and sharing)
The application works well and we hope to break free of part-time mode this summer. Opportunities for improving our product and exposure are limitless, so I guess that means the time we can/should spend on it is also limitless. ;p
fp's comment is right on: "The limiting factor in startups does not seem to be time: it's attention."
Re: Ask YC: Are you working part-time on your startup/project/idea?
#36Quit Microsoft in January (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=110792) and I am loving working full-time on my own ventures.
I did build all products: (http://www.phonemyphone.com, http://www.craigslistautoresponder.com, and http://www.emptyspaceads.com) while working full-time at Microsoft, it seems really hard to succeed working part time on your startup.
Re: Ask YC: Are you working part-time on your startup/project/idea?
#37I'm curious, for those who have gone fulltime on their startups, are you making any money at it, and if so how much?
Re: Ask YC: Are you working part-time on your startup/project/idea?
#38Make sure you own your IP if you're working at a big company and part time on your startup.
Re: Ask YC: Are you working part-time on your startup/project/idea?
#39Make sure you own your IP if you're working at a big company and part time on your startup.
How have people reconciled being able to work on your startup part time while at a large company full time? By reconcile, I mean in terms of legal contracts, etc. I'm pretty sure most people sign a non-compete clause in their employment contract.
Re: Ask YC: Are you working part-time on your startup/project/idea?
#40I did that for about 9 months before going full-time 6 months ago. I'd usually work on the startup for an hour before work and then 1-2 hours after dinner, so maybe 15-20 hours/week. I've found that my coding time hasn't really increased much since going full-time, and yet I'm vastly more productive. The limiting factor in startups does not seem to be time: it's attention. Having that extra 8 hrs/day to think about t…
I completely agree with you. I recently left my career at one of the larger banks and the additional time has made all the difference. Now I get to spend time prototyping various ideas I never would have been able to otherwise with very small blocks of time. Best decision, ever.