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Ask HN: Did you start a company whilst employed?

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Re: Ask HN: Did you start a company whilst employed?

#81

Post by ChuckMcM »

In answer to the question, no. A similar question might be have you ever worked on developing a new relationship while you were in an existing relationship? Strangely a lot of the same hazards exist :-)

Besides the legal challenges, there are the IP challenges, and if you're honest with yourself you probably aren't doing your best work on one of the two jobs (and likely the one paying the bills) and so you are putting your reputation as an employee at risk as well.

The simple answer is, coming up with ideas? Great to do while you're working. Always be on the lookout for the next big thing. Due diligence on what has been done so far? Also fair game. Developing an itemized list of things you'd have to have done before you were 'up and running', also a reasonable thing. But once you pull the trigger and you're "starting a company", my experience suggests you will be much more successful if you are doing that 'full time' rather than 'nights and weekends.' If only to minimize the cognitive load of things not related to your new company.

Also if you treat your current employer well, which is to say you leave when you get serious about this new company. If it goes to hell they might take you back, if it goes well they might invest, and if you're just looking for mentors you may find them there. If you treat your employer poorly you will not have a chance at those benefits.

Re: Ask HN: Did you start a company whilst employed?

#82

Post by SalesZip »

Me and my partner are in the process of setting up http://SalesZip.com.

We are working on it from January Last year. Both of us were working in the business development. We decided to take few clients externally. After working with them for six month we had saved enough. Both of us resigned from our jobs. Employers were fortune 50 companies. They were not too bothered. As company we are at place where we can choose the path we would like to take.

Advice : Find people who are in need of your services and ready to pay. Also check with your lawyer to avoid legal issues.

Re: Ask HN: Did you start a company whilst employed?

#83

Post by walshemj »

pkorzeniewski wrote: post #27
alanbyrne wrote: post #3

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"

I can't believe some companies include such clause, I would never sign such bullshit agreement. I can understand a clause against creating something that can be a competition to your employer products, but other than that - stay away from my free time.

Its the way Anglo Saxon employment law has developed over century's one of the key acts is the "Masters and Servants Act".

Employment law heavily favours the employer hint we are the "servants" here

Re: Ask HN: Did you start a company whilst employed?

#84

Post by pokstad »

fleitz wrote: post #80
pokstad wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds like a huge conflict of interest. At my company we have to sign a COI form to promise we don't engage in such behavior.

Similarly every company makes you sign non-poaching agreements, and then asks you to poach your former colleagues.

Poaching employees is a purely private matter though. When a company contracted by the government agrees to subcontract to smaller "disadvantaged" companies, but then hires it's own employee's firm, that may borderline on fraud from the taxpayer's perspective.

Re: Ask HN: Did you start a company whilst employed?

#85

Post by boxerab »

christudor wrote: post #13

I started MASSOLIT (www.massolit.co.uk) when I was still employed as a strategy consultant. MASSOLIT provide video lectures in the arts and humanities, though we are changing things slightly at the moment. Anyway, you can get a lot of market research done while still doing a job, e.g. e-mailing lots of people. The idea developed significantly while I was still working, and I only left when we had positive noises abou…

Is your site name a reference to "The Master and Margarita" ?

Re: Ask HN: Did you start a company whilst employed?

#86

Post by USNetizen »

pokstad wrote: post #84
fleitz wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similarly every company makes you sign non-poaching agreements, and then asks you to poach your former colleagues.

Poaching employees is a purely private matter though. When a company contracted by the government agrees to subcontract to smaller "disadvantaged" companies, but then hires it's own employee's firm, that may borderline on fraud from the taxpayer's perspective.

It has nothing to do with hiring staff, and you can't be an employee subcontracting an employer, that doesn't make sense. I don't think I clearly explained that you bring work to your FORMER employer, whom you leverage as a relationship. You can't carry on as an employee while you have contracts to your name, that isn't allowed. But you can work on some of the relationship building while you are employed and make the leap once you are ready to get work.

Re: Ask HN: Did you start a company whilst employed?

#87

Post by nandreev »

sebslomski wrote: post #25

1 1/2 years ago I started my company http://cutterslounge.de I didn't quit my job and started working on my company, I've already built a prototype of my product whilst being employed. This gave me the huge advantage of not starting from scratch. It was easier for me to convince my now co-founder to join me and quit his job. After I quit my job, I had still a good relationship with them, which made it possible for me…

Very cool site, congratulations! Will you be expanding to other countries/markets too?

Seems like most hair salons could benefit from this - it's so hectic in those places.

Re: Ask HN: Did you start a company whilst employed?

#88

Post by lauriswtf »

annapurna wrote: post #65
lauriswtf wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks. 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/

Interesting to see how your sites have evolved but I guess you found the right tools based on their applications. Both sites look good. Just two comments: - Datazenit blog: Font size seems a bit smaller - Hiburo: Mediakit link is broken (dropbox access?) Good luck with both!

Thanks for your feedback. Hiburo Media kit link seems to working from here (tried from Incognito). Did it load at all for you?

And your are right about the right tool for the right task. Datazenit naturally evolved into what it is now. Customer feedback and feature requests initiated the switch to Scala.

Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: Did you start a company whilst employed?

#89

Post by opilkin »

I started a software development company while employed as tech support for another software development company. I later quit my job to develop my company. My boss didn't mind. I was 23 and I didn't really play it smart. Things got tough and I hit a few roadblocks. I had to work some smaller jobs just to get by and keep working on my company. Eventually, it started to pick up and the project started to bring enough of an income to sustain myself.

It's been 2 years since things stabilized. I've moved around from city to city, country to country. It's been an amazing experience working on what I like and embracing the freedom of self-employment. Despite the volatile journey, I do not regret my general choices (though some decisions could've been executed better, in hindsight). I've learned so much!

I am now on the verge of releasing a new version of my software that should propel my company to new heights. Exciting times!

My advice is to never give up :P

Re: Ask HN: Did you start a company whilst employed?

#90

Post by junto »

A word of warning. Many companies include a contractual obligation inside your employment contract that requires you to declare any company directorships, whether you see you new startup as a conflict of interest or not.

I got fired from a well known PC manufacturer for not declaring such a directorship. A web development consultancy was not a conflict of interest but I broke the contract so it was a hard but valid lesson learned.

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