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Ask HN: How can I work towards building a company while employed?

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Re: Ask HN: How can I work towards building a company while employed?

#91

Post by Kaotique »

sonnyblarney wrote: post #55
Kaotique wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find that first advice a bit paranoid. What country are you from where it is normal that a company is logging and spying on its employers? I have a company laptop but there is no logging whatsoever. Outside office hours I use this laptop to do personal stuff all the time.

"What country are you from where it is normal that a company is logging and spying on its employers? " This is everywhere. "I have a company laptop but there is no logging whatsoever." I suggest they very well could be logging your web requests. This is very common. It's not like your manager is necessarily even going to have access to this. They're not interested in what you are doing, generally. But if there is a s…

I don't know if you mean logging of traffic on the company network or all network traffic on the laptop itself. The latter is definitely not happening here.

Re: Ask HN: How can I work towards building a company while employed?

#93

Post by matz1 »

sessy wrote: post #12

1. Be fair to your company. They are paying you to make their product succeed. Imagine a future situation where you are running a succesful company. Would you want your employees taking your money while working on their own pet projects? 2. An hour or two every day and code marathons on weekends can get your a basic version of product out in a few months. 3. Never give in to temptation to steal office hours to work o…

>1

yea if I am the owner of the company, but if I am the employee, i would want to work on my own project while also taking money from the company.

Different position some time need different way to handle things.

Re: Ask HN: How can I work towards building a company while employed?

#94

Post by Amygaz »

lfowles wrote: post #89
ilaksh wrote: post #72

The clauses I have seen attempt to claim all intellectual work regardless of when it was done or whether it was related to the job. To me, this is an indication that we truly have not progressed beyond wage slavery. I believe such clauses should be illegal. I think one thing we might be able to do is to create a list of companies that have blanket clauses like this and then some people (not most) will have the luxury…

It'd probably be easier to create a list of companies without

That’s what I think.

I have mainly worked at non-profits (gov, inc, edu), and even these own all your work.

The only way is to develop your idea, which has to be unrelated enough to your work, at a different location, on you own time, with your own money.

Re: Ask HN: How can I work towards building a company while employed?

#95

Post by anonymousab »

mongol wrote: post #68
chii wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this is very dangerous advice. If it is in your clause,then it's easy to come after you for it. Just don't do it on company dime and company time. This is what weekends are for, and it'd be up to the company to prove otherwise.

But if it says "while employed", I don't think working on it on weekends makes a difference. Employment lasts until it ends, not only while on working hours.

The idea behind these clauses is that they apply 24/7/365 while you are salaried.

Re: Ask HN: How can I work towards building a company while employed?

#96

Post by archevel »

Would creating a GPL or BSD licensed project and then contribute to that work (in case the employer allows work on FOSS)? Then one would presumably be free to start a business using that software after quitting. Also if it's BSD licensed there's nothing preventing one from close sourcing the stuff after quitting. Of course the code would potentially already be out in the world and used if it's in a public repo...

Re: Ask HN: How can I work towards building a company while employed?

#97

Post by SteveNuts »

archevel wrote: post #96

Would creating a GPL or BSD licensed project and then contribute to that work (in case the employer allows work on FOSS)? Then one would presumably be free to start a business using that software after quitting. Also if it's BSD licensed there's nothing preventing one from close sourcing the stuff after quitting. Of course the code would potentially already be out in the world and used if it's in a public repo...

Be careful, some employers consider any work done on any project during work hours (or on company equipment) their property.

Re: Ask HN: How can I work towards building a company while employed?

#98

Post by jrib »

a-saleh wrote: post #26

A.f.a.i.k. while I am not a lawyer, rule of thumb is anything you do * on your own equipment * on your own time can be considered yours. If you want to be extra sure, maybe consider first switching from employment to consulting? A friend of mine was primarily a consultant in pc-game-marketing space and then he founded a company, slowly building out a product. On the other hand, I get that going for consulting gigs ca…

How many hours do you work during the 4 days? What do you generally give up during your negotiations for the 4 days?

Re: Ask HN: How can I work towards building a company while employed?

#99

Post by MaxfordAndSons »

Amygaz wrote: post #94
lfowles wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It'd probably be easier to create a list of companies without

That’s what I think. I have mainly worked at non-profits (gov, inc, edu), and even these own all your work. The only way is to develop your idea, which has to be unrelated enough to your work, at a different location, on you own time, with your own money.

> The only way is to develop your idea, which has to be unrelated enough to your work, at a different location, on you own time, with your own money.

To be clear, many (if not most) of the IP clauses discussed here would still claim to own your personal IP produced while employed EVEN given all those conditions.

As an aside, workers in California have much better protections from this kind of IP overreach by employers, and abiding by the conditions you mention will protect you there, but not necessarily elsewhere. Also, and this really grates me, employers in California will still often include a total IP ownership clause, even though it's nullified by the state law, for reasons I can't fathom - to scare you into not developing your own IP off the clock? Or just in case the law changes? I find it very distasteful.

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