...and I hired a couple of keen consultants 3 years ago who were working on a startup "on the side" (of course it was my work that was on the side). It took th

...and I hired a couple of keen consultants 3 years ago who were working on a startup "on the side" (of course it was my work that was on the side). It took them nine months of doing very little before they admitted they weren't going to get the job done. If you're going to consult "on the side" of your startup, hide the fact that you've got a startup from your potential clients. If you can complete outside work satisfactorily, as well as keep motivation for your startup, well, that's a sign you're a hard worker :)