31–40 of 110 posts
However after I left the company, we changed the design and did a complete rewrite (switched from PHP/Kohana to Python/Django). Now it is up and running for a few months and growing slowly but steadily.
I started my first company while employed as a project manager at a web design shop. I started a (smaller) web design shop. While employed, I spent some evenings and weekends trying to find clients. I quit my job when I got my first paying client. The company I started isn't around anymore -- but here I am 18 years later still happily self-employed and doing well. So I'd say it was a success. Edit: Last month I gave…
That was a nice talk. Why am I getting the Jobs stanford speech vibe in your talk.
Currently we are in the process of being acquired by a larger company. I've seen a few folks try to do a start a company this way and they almost always underestimate how much work it's going to be. Everything takes 3 times longer than you think it will and requires 10 times more effort.
I tried to raise seed funding and VC money but failed on both counts, so I can't really give any useful advice on how to do that. I raise this because I spent a lot of time in meetings with potential investors and gathering information for them. Since that ended up being largely unproductive time, now I wish I had just focused on my customers instead.
I'd be interested to hear how other people decide which investor meetings to take and which ones to ignore.
Yes, I founded https://hiburo.com and had the idea while being employed and started building an early prototype on weekends/evenings. However after I left the company, we changed the design and did a complete rewrite (switched from PHP/Kohana to Python/Django). Now it is up and running for a few months and growing slowly but steadily.
Would you mind if I ask why you switched?
BTW, nice design on your home page.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree with paraschopra. Many places I have worked have included a clause in the employment contract that says something along the lines of "Anything you create whilst working for us, including in your own time, will become property of our company"
Do you know of any other way around this, other than going to your employer explicitly ?
I'm not a lawyer, so this is just my fuzzy recollection of what my lawyers told me. If you've got something serious on the line, a good lawyer's time is a cheap investment that will pay dividends in the long run.
This time, yes. I'm dropping a day a week of salary, and working (with my main job's blessing) on a new venture with some colleagues and others. For the others they feel there's enough spare time to pull it off, but for myself I don't have enough energy left after spending the time I think I ought to with my family, so would rather take the monetary hit to make the time for it.
Too early to say much else, except that I strongly recommend getting formal written approval for what you're doing - and especially so if you're taking co-workers with you.
I started a b2b SaaS company while employed and quit when we got our first paying customers. I always built software in my off hours for fun, but when I decided to try and solve other people's problems I realized it could be a business rather than just a hobby. I don't think my employer knew or cared what I was going to do after I left. Currently we are in the process of being acquired by a larger company. I've seen…
I've raised from angels and micro-vcs, it's frustrating and time consuming. Focus on revenue, keeping headcount low, and and bootstrap yourself to success!
Yes, I founded https://hiburo.com and had the idea while being employed and started building an early prototype on weekends/evenings. However after I left the company, we changed the design and did a complete rewrite (switched from PHP/Kohana to Python/Django). Now it is up and running for a few months and growing slowly but steadily.
> switched from PHP/Kohana to Python/Django Would you mind if I ask why you switched? BTW, nice design on your home page.
Kohana was slowly dying at the time and the development had almost stopped (currently the framework is completely dead). But really I just wanted to try a new stack and Django looked promising. Also had prior Python experience.
In the next project [0] we went from Python/Django to Scala/Play :)
[0] - http://datazenit.com/
Yes, I started http://visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/ when I was employed as R&D engineer. I told them way before and the business interests wasn't competing. The company is doing quite well. My advice would be to say upfront and declare what you're doing, and if possible get in writing that this is something you'll own (and not them).