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Put it in your contract before you get employed. If starting a company while employed, reach out to your employer saying you're building company X which does Y
by buf 8y ago
Put it in your contract before you get employed. If starting a company while employed, reach out to your employer saying you're building company X which does Y as a side project and you need a document stating no IP ownership.
- leowoo91 8y agoSure you will be get hired while building a company.
- buf 8y agoI've hired 100+ engineers in my career. The ones with side projects are the best engineers. That said, sure I've had to fire some who don't perform.
- pmalynin 8y agoPretty common question to ask from hiring managers. It shows passion. Passion is a way better predictor of your work quality and commitment than asking ICPC whiteboard questions.
- leowoo91 8y agoSide projects prove the passion, I certainly agree. Only, I can't get my head around if employee decides to start dreaming his/her side project taking over the current job. If odds are close and side project has good traction, maybe it's not ethical to work in fulltime before understanding it either.
- sincerely 8y agoIt's not ethical to take a job you think you might leave at some point in the future? lol
- leowoo91 8y agoIsn't fulltime an accepted life-style? I see lot of people didn't think far enough but loved their job. Indeed, they seem much happier than lost people in startups. If I would hire someone, I would like to work with that type of person. They can change their mind later, no problem.
- ryandrake 8y agoNo employer I have ever worked for would even consider modifying this language in their agreement. They are going to have a standard boilerplate and if you try to negotiate or modify it they will tell you “sign it unmodified or GTFO.” Ask me how I know :-)
- buf 8y agoMy last two companies have modified their language.
- karmajunkie 8y agoYeah, I request changes from both clients and W2 jobs and get most of what I want as well.
- sneak 8y agoCounter anecdata: Many employers are happily willing to provide such carve-outs for ownership of side projects done at home on the employee’s own time and equipment.
- lgregg 8y agoThis is interesting. Has this been your personal experience? If so, to what the extent?
- r_smart 8y agoI got my last employer to agree to change the IP terms. It was a typo in their document nobody caught, that asserted ownership on everything. They were only too happy to fix it so it only applied to work done for them. I did have an industry specific non-compete as well, but it's a fairly narrow segment, so I had no problem signing. My current employment agreement specifically states I can run whatever enterprise I want outside of work so long as it doesn't interfere with my duties (and presumably their business).
- optymizer 8y agoI can confirm that. Two of the top 5 US tech companies told me to sign it as-is or GTFO.
- awaywopassd 8y agoMy ex-boss had an offer rescinded when he declared his personal IP on the form provided by the company. He had told interviewers about his significant IP/projects. Interviewers thought that was no problem. On the first day of his job, he filled out a form declaring his current IP. Some HR/lawyer reviewed it and a week later he was let go. No real reason was given. But he spent his first week answering questions related to his projects, so it is pretty obvious they were worried about it.