4 ms·

Sidepact: Start a company with a full-time job (applications close Wednesday)

5 points by sgallese 7y ago

streetcat1 7y ago
So how did you solved the IP ownership issues?
- sgallese 7y ago
  Hello there! I assume you're referring to IP ownership issues between participants of the program, but please correct me if I'm mistaken. Finding potential co-founders is hard, hopefully Sidepact makes that process easier. If you find somebody to team up with, having open conversations early in the relationship and establishing ownership stakes for each team member is key. We know each team has a different makeup and unique formation.
  - streetcat1 7y ago
    Thanks for the answer. I meant IP between the employer of the engineer (her full time job) and the side project. Most companies have very rigid IP ownership, which basically forbid R&D engineers from doing any meaningful side projects. Is the engineer expected to ask its full time employer for permission to engage in this side project?
    - sgallese 7y ago
      Good question, and I’ll preface my answer with the fact that I’m not a lawyer and this subject is nuanced with much more eloquent threads on Hacker News on this topic. One of the speakers at Sidepact 2018 was a lawyer who also gave great answers to this question and its many sibling questions. My summary: working on something that is not related to your current company’s product while on your own time on your own equipment is ideal. And yes, if you work at a Mega-Corp or very extensive R&D shop, this is tricky since your company may have lots of products. In my personal case, I worked at a small startup that had a focused product. I started my project at Sidepact in a completely unrelated area and informed my manager months before I left to give them time to hire, onboard, and prepare for my departure. They even let me work part-time for a month so I wouldn’t go straight to no paycheck :) Not everybody is as fortunate to work at a company like this though, so each person has a different approach.

5 points by sgallese 7y ago

streetcat1 7y ago

So how did you solved the IP ownership issues?

sgallese 7y ago
Hello there! I assume you're referring to IP ownership issues between participants of the program, but please correct me if I'm mistaken. Finding potential co-founders is hard, hopefully Sidepact makes that process easier. If you find somebody to team up with, having open conversations early in the relationship and establishing ownership stakes for each team member is key. We know each team has a different makeup and unique formation.
- streetcat1 7y ago
  Thanks for the answer. I meant IP between the employer of the engineer (her full time job) and the side project. Most companies have very rigid IP ownership, which basically forbid R&D engineers from doing any meaningful side projects. Is the engineer expected to ask its full time employer for permission to engage in this side project?
  - sgallese 7y ago
    Good question, and I’ll preface my answer with the fact that I’m not a lawyer and this subject is nuanced with much more eloquent threads on Hacker News on this topic. One of the speakers at Sidepact 2018 was a lawyer who also gave great answers to this question and its many sibling questions. My summary: working on something that is not related to your current company’s product while on your own time on your own equipment is ideal. And yes, if you work at a Mega-Corp or very extensive R&D shop, this is tricky since your company may have lots of products. In my personal case, I worked at a small startup that had a focused product. I started my project at Sidepact in a completely unrelated area and informed my manager months before I left to give them time to hire, onboard, and prepare for my departure. They even let me work part-time for a month so I wouldn’t go straight to no paycheck :) Not everybody is as fortunate to work at a company like this though, so each person has a different approach.