Ask HN: Who here has built a profitable startup while keeping their day job? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Who here has built a profitable startup while keeping their day job?

#11

Post by leowoo91 » Wed, Sep 26, 2018, 5:10 PM UTC

buf wrote: post #10

ryandrake wrote: post #7

Tread carefully. If you’re going to do this, read your current employment agreement carefully especially the parts about Intellectual Property. Every medium-to-large company I have worked at has asserted ownership of everything I build, at work or away from work, using my own equipment, on my own time—it doesn't matter. If your employer can imagne a conflict of interest (for example could what you are working on pote…

Put it in your contract before you get employed. If starting a company while employed, reach out to your employer saying you're building company X which does Y as a side project and you need a document stating no IP ownership.

Sure you will be get hired while building a company.

Re: Ask HN: Who here has built a profitable startup while keeping their day job?

#12

Post by buf » Wed, Sep 26, 2018, 5:12 PM UTC

leowoo91 wrote: post #11

buf wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Put it in your contract before you get employed. If starting a company while employed, reach out to your employer saying you're building company X which does Y as a side project and you need a document stating no IP ownership.

Sure you will be get hired while building a company.

I've hired 100+ engineers in my career. The ones with side projects are the best engineers. That said, sure I've had to fire some who don't perform.

Re: Ask HN: Who here has built a profitable startup while keeping their day job?

#13

Post by ryandrake » Wed, Sep 26, 2018, 5:12 PM UTC

buf wrote: post #10

ryandrake wrote: post #7

Tread carefully. If you’re going to do this, read your current employment agreement carefully especially the parts about Intellectual Property. Every medium-to-large company I have worked at has asserted ownership of everything I build, at work or away from work, using my own equipment, on my own time—it doesn't matter. If your employer can imagne a conflict of interest (for example could what you are working on pote…

Put it in your contract before you get employed. If starting a company while employed, reach out to your employer saying you're building company X which does Y as a side project and you need a document stating no IP ownership.

No employer I have ever worked for would even consider modifying this language in their agreement. They are going to have a standard boilerplate and if you try to negotiate or modify it they will tell you “sign it unmodified or GTFO.” Ask me how I know :-)

Re: Ask HN: Who here has built a profitable startup while keeping their day job?

#14

Post by pmalynin » Wed, Sep 26, 2018, 5:12 PM UTC

leowoo91 wrote: post #11

buf wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Put it in your contract before you get employed. If starting a company while employed, reach out to your employer saying you're building company X which does Y as a side project and you need a document stating no IP ownership.

Sure you will be get hired while building a company.

Pretty common question to ask from hiring managers. It shows passion. Passion is a way better predictor of your work quality and commitment than asking ICPC whiteboard questions.

Re: Ask HN: Who here has built a profitable startup while keeping their day job?

#15

Post by buf » Wed, Sep 26, 2018, 5:13 PM UTC

ryandrake wrote: post #13

buf wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Put it in your contract before you get employed. If starting a company while employed, reach out to your employer saying you're building company X which does Y as a side project and you need a document stating no IP ownership.

No employer I have ever worked for would even consider modifying this language in their agreement. They are going to have a standard boilerplate and if you try to negotiate or modify it they will tell you “sign it unmodified or GTFO.” Ask me how I know :-)

My last two companies have modified their language.

Re: Ask HN: Who here has built a profitable startup while keeping their day job?

#16

Post by sneak » Wed, Sep 26, 2018, 5:13 PM UTC

ryandrake wrote: post #13

buf wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Put it in your contract before you get employed. If starting a company while employed, reach out to your employer saying you're building company X which does Y as a side project and you need a document stating no IP ownership.

No employer I have ever worked for would even consider modifying this language in their agreement. They are going to have a standard boilerplate and if you try to negotiate or modify it they will tell you “sign it unmodified or GTFO.” Ask me how I know :-)

Counter anecdata: Many employers are happily willing to provide such carve-outs for ownership of side projects done at home on the employee’s own time and equipment.

Re: Ask HN: Who here has built a profitable startup while keeping their day job?

#17

Post by nathan_f77 » Wed, Sep 26, 2018, 5:14 PM UTC

Insanity wrote: post #8

Might be easier to combine a day job with freelancing rather than having a startup.

I think it's even easier to combine freelancing with having a startup. That's what I've been doing.

Re: Ask HN: Who here has built a profitable startup while keeping their day job?

#18

Post by notJim » Wed, Sep 26, 2018, 5:16 PM UTC

wilsmex wrote: post #9

Bootstrapped https://artcall.org and trying to gain traction on https://ezzl.art while employed full time elsewhere.

FYI, I cannot scroll down on on artcall.org.

Re: Ask HN: Who here has built a profitable startup while keeping their day job?

#19

Post by imhoguy » Wed, Sep 26, 2018, 5:17 PM UTC

Insanity wrote: post #8

Might be easier to combine a day job with freelancing rather than having a startup.

It depends, serious freelancing often requires some kind availability/responsiveness within business hours which may be tough with full-time day job. Of course the same applies to any high touch customer startup too.

Re: Ask HN: Who here has built a profitable startup while keeping their day job?

#20

Post by jepper » Wed, Sep 26, 2018, 5:17 PM UTC

Not really a startup in the sense of a VC backed multi million dollar company but three working friends and me have bootstrapped a fitness websites with science based health advice, mostly free, to basically the largest fitness related website in the Netherlands. Currently employing people, which i think still sounds insane for a hobby project. https://www.fit.nl. 700.000 pageviews a month. App, 2 books, system for training and meal schedules etc. One now works full time as a lead/writer.

As a day job I'm a full time resident of orthopedic surgery. Busy days. I've done most of the programming of the website (custom theme on wordpress), product comparison engine and other custom pages. And server admin for discourse, mattermost etc

Some important findings:

- You have to care otherwise it becomes a chore. In this case it keeps people healthy. We give free advice that i think is pretty good, e.g on the forum, I love that part. The link with the day job is here. Lots of stuff i tell people during clinic hours applies here as well

- As its completely different it still feels like a hobby. Learning to do stuff is fun

- Clear separation of responsibility, do stuff you are efficient in

- A ticketing system for jobs, pick up stuff when you have time. Anybody can add to the ticket list but the list owner decides what comes first.

- Keeping the tickets bite sized. GIT to deploy, deploy often

- A time tracking system (Toggle) tracks time spent.

- Mattermost for private discussions and planning

- Meetups and fun activities to keep the group focused

- Managed main server (websynthesis) in case the website goes down and the other technical guy or me are unavailable. More expensive but less stress this way.