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"Bootstrapping and self-funding while working a $DAYJOB is certainly possible." The worst thing you could do is start while working at $DAYJOB and find out aft

by niggler 14y ago

"Bootstrapping and self-funding while working a $DAYJOB is certainly possible." The worst thing you could do is start while working at $DAYJOB and find out after the fact that your employment contract stipulates that they own all associated IP. And yes, in many states people have those types of contracts. I highly recommend quitting and sitting out a relevant noncompete first, because the worst thing that could happen is sacrificing, succeeding and ultimately having to hand everything over to an employer over employment agreement issues.

mindcrime 14y ago
The worst thing you could do is start while working at $DAYJOB and find out after the fact that your employment contract stipulates that they own all associated IP. That's why you negotiate that stuff before you start on the startup. And if you $DAYJOB won't accept a reasonable agreement, then you find a new $DAYJOB. You raise a valid point, but in the grand scheme of things, it's just a detail, not a complete blocker to the idea of funding your startup through your own salary.
codeonfire 14y ago
For this to have any effect, your $DAYJOB has to decide to sue you, go to court, win a judgement, then they get... nothing. You don't have any assets for them to take. You're a poor peon worker. Your $DAYJOB is full of people who see your work as near worthless, and it IS worthless without you to breath life into it. In a corporate bureaucracy it is taboo to even suggest that individuals produce the value. It's the bureaucracy that produces the value, not the cogs. It's essentially not possible to convince the company that your IP unrelated to your specific job is something the company wants. Assuming this scenarios ever played out in the history of IP and your dayjob is actively suing you to get their greedy hands on your awesome IP, this is gold for you. Your stuff is in extremely high demand. Throw it away, and go out and get version 2.0 funded.

by niggler 14y ago

mindcrime 14y ago

The worst thing you could do is start while working at $DAYJOB and find out after the fact that your employment contract stipulates that they own all associated IP. That's why you negotiate that stuff before you start on the startup. And if you $DAYJOB won't accept a reasonable agreement, then you find a new $DAYJOB. You raise a valid point, but in the grand scheme of things, it's just a detail, not a complete blocker to the idea of funding your startup through your own salary.

codeonfire 14y ago

For this to have any effect, your $DAYJOB has to decide to sue you, go to court, win a judgement, then they get... nothing. You don't have any assets for them to take. You're a poor peon worker. Your $DAYJOB is full of people who see your work as near worthless, and it IS worthless without you to breath life into it. In a corporate bureaucracy it is taboo to even suggest that individuals produce the value. It's the bureaucracy that produces the value, not the cogs. It's essentially not possible to convince the company that your IP unrelated to your specific job is something the company wants. Assuming this scenarios ever played out in the history of IP and your dayjob is actively suing you to get their greedy hands on your awesome IP, this is gold for you. Your stuff is in extremely high demand. Throw it away, and go out and get version 2.0 funded.