

Tips for launching a startup while holding a day job - Geea
http://entrepreneur.venturebeat.com/2010/03/24/6-critical-tips-for-launching-a-startup-while-holding-a-day-job

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vital101
The point about not using your day job's resources is important. Not only
could you lose you day job, but your side project as well. Many times when you
start working at an organization, they have you sign an agreement saying
something like "We own everything that is produced on our machines, network,
etc."

~~~
wallflower
I lock my MacBook that I use to work on several side projects on my train
commute to my work desk and plug it in to recharge it. I don't open up the
lid. Is it ok to use the electricity (it's not the network)?

~~~
patio11
Buy a second battery and you'll never have to find out.

~~~
wallflower
Doing that. Thanks.

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davidedicillo
I agree with everything beside the point "You can’t afford to hire three
developers to add features and bugs.". You actual can, it just require a
little of a financial sacrifice for you. Hiring my first employee was the best
thing I ever done, especially when he can work during hours you normally
can't.

~~~
nollidge
I would think that depends on that employee's autonomy. They could hit a
roadblock that they need you to clear, but you're unavailable.

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markkoberlein
I have found that the easiest way to keep my day job and startup separate is
to have a separate laptop for both so that I'm not tempted to work on startup
tasks on the company's computer while on the clock or off. Not too difficult
to do during the day but it can be during the off hours when the company's
laptop is better than your own.

I think the harder issue is trying to avoid answering emails that are startup
related while on the clock. Even if it's webmail they still own the internet
at work.

~~~
wallflower
The grey area is using 3G and a smartphone for side project email.

~~~
christonog
I don't think there's a grey area at all. You're still on the company's time
whether you write support emails or are on the phone doing a deal.

I wonder if there's any grey area with regard to working during a lunch break.

~~~
yters
Could you just track the time deducted from the company's time, and put in the
extra half hour or so?

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vdoma
On a related note, is it okay to pick up skills related to your side project
at work? For example, if my side project is building a application in Clojure,
is it okay to learn about Clojure at work? Of course, not at the expense of
getting actual work work done, but there's always time between builds, etc. So
instead of playing Foosball or surfing the internet, can one actually do
something more productive, even though it's unrelated to the current work you
are doing?

~~~
pw0ncakes
IANAL, but I think there's pretty strong precedent that the employer can't
assume ownership over any non-proprietary information you learn (languages,
design patterns) at work.

Of course, we live in a proto-fascist state where legal combat is often won by
those with the most money, so it'd be dangerous to assume that past sane
decisions will carry into the future.

~~~
yters
I don't think companies can own knowledge, mainly because it is physically
impossible. Once they figure out how to remove knowledge from the mind, then
maybe they can.

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dsplittgerber
From a legal point of view, this is actually really good advice. It adequately
stresses the importance of making really, really sure that you are not bound
by any anti-compete or IP clauses or what have you, or get released from them
by your employer. To non-legal people, the advised measures may seem
ridiculous; let me assure you, they are not. They are well within the minimum
you need to do.

For your startup, it's not about if the courts will, after several months or
even years, uphold your IP rights. It's about ever getting sued and game over.

~~~
pw0ncakes
Stupid question: if your startup gets sued over something like this, why not
have the company declare bankruptcy, dissolve it, and start a new company in
the same idea with some of the same employees? (If you have investors who'd
get burned in this process, tell them that they can avoid this fate if they
commit sufficient resources to win the lawsuit; if they do, then this is the
best possibility.)

It seems like it wouldn't be that hard to hide enough in the way of resources
(relationships, ideas) to get a good start on Act 2. You'd lose your office
and a few months of salary, and need to find new investors, but this doesn't
seem as severe as "game over".

It seems like 85% of startup time is figuring out what works and what doesn't,
so you can "kill" the code (i.e. shunt it out of view, and then use it as a
reference in a comprehensive rewrite, possibly in a different language so
there's no doubt as to your new code being yours) and your cost is only the
15% of the time necessary to implement the ideas that you now know will work.

~~~
alain94040
Because the lawsuit would include you, the defendant, personally, and not just
your shell company?

[quick legal advice: if a trick sounds too easy, it probably won't hold in
court]

~~~
pw0ncakes
_Because the lawsuit would include you, the defendant, personally, and not
just your shell company?_

I don't know if this would work, having never had to do it, and it's extremely
unlikely that I ever will, but then I'd hire someone to put severe pressure on
decision-makers at the plantiff and make it very clear that they don't want to
dance this way. Hiring a "pro negotiator" of this sort is expensive, but
cheaper than losing a company, a livelihood, and having future wages
garnished.

When legal action becomes unaffordable and favors the rich, people will resort
to illegal action. And I don't fear death enough that I'd let someone
disrespect me in such a way without taking his own fall.

 _[quick legal advice: if a trick sounds too easy, it probably won't hold in
court]_

This I doubt, given that the vast majority of white-collar crime never leads
to an indictment, and the penalties are so minor relative to the rewards that
it persists in spades. (This is not to say I'd advise white-collar crime, the
vast majority of which is utterly unethical and dishonorable scumbaggery. I'm
only saying that the vast majority of criminals in our society get away with
it.)

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nollidge
More discussion over at the original link from Jason's blog:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1175416>

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josh33
So I have a friend (it could be true) considering starting a business on the
side and he agrees with all of these points. After reading this article,
however, he realized that he did sign some type of agreement saying anything
he does is property of the company, even if it was at home. At the time he
wondered whether this was normal, but as it was the standard company contract,
he signed it.

How should he handle this situation?

~~~
imp
Talk to a lawyer familiar with those issues in your state. It depends on what
he signed and your state's laws. No matter what, it's still best to disclose
it to his employer, just like this article suggests and patio11 also suggests:
[http://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/03/20/running-a-software-
busin...](http://www.kalzumeus.com/2010/03/20/running-a-software-business-
on-5-hours-a-week/)

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yic
What if I am a developer in the day job, but I don't code for the the startup,
and the technology we use is totally different from my employer, will there be
a IP concern?

~~~
megamark16
As the article points out, you just can't work on your startup while at work
at your day job. So if you're not answering emails, blogging, coding, testing,
whatever, than you should be fine :-) Also check your non compete, some
employers get a little crazy about it and may try to claim ownership of
anything you do, even in your off time. Of course IANAL.

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woadwarrior01
This is a repost of Jason's post from his blog. Here's the HN discussion on
that post. <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1175416>

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JarekS
Number one thing that should be on the list - find a co-founder!

