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I see some good advice on this thread so a followup question. I'm about to quit my job with the aim of starting up my own company. I don't have a lot of non-te

by go1979 12y ago

I see some good advice on this thread so a followup question. I'm about to quit my job with the aim of starting up my own company. I don't have a lot of non-tech contacts - i.e. potential customers and angel investors. That is my biggest worry. I can't really bootstrap while on the job since I am currently in a large corporate job where the company owns everything I dream up. So .. while I agree with all the advice about not quitting a job until one has another one lined up (I've given the same advice to others) ... I am about to go against this advice myself. Any words of advice on how to manage this? Am I bonkers? Some stats ... have 6 months of living costs in liquid savings. No kids. Going to be leaving a job that pays north of 120K (which is not much in elite companies it seems).

jonnathanson 12y ago
One of my best friends went through a very similar predicament with her startup a few years ago. She and her startup aren't technical, interestingly enough, but she's been very successful, and has raised a fair amount of VC and angel money on the basis of very few a priori connections. She bootstrapped while on the job. I am not 100% sure how she managed that vis-a-vis her employer, but I'm guessing that she had a conversation with them and put her cards on the table, and that they came to an agreement of some sort. Incidentally, IANAL, but my understanding of those workplace IP agreements is that they only cover inventions and ideas you come up with "in the course of performing your job," or something to that effect. They do not cover nights and weekends. Read your contract's fine print, though, because there have been horror stories here. Hit me up over email (address in my profile) if you're interested in speaking to my friend about her experience. I'm also happy to help as best I can.

by go1979 12y ago

jonnathanson 12y ago

One of my best friends went through a very similar predicament with her startup a few years ago. She and her startup aren't technical, interestingly enough, but she's been very successful, and has raised a fair amount of VC and angel money on the basis of very few a priori connections. She bootstrapped while on the job. I am not 100% sure how she managed that vis-a-vis her employer, but I'm guessing that she had a conversation with them and put her cards on the table, and that they came to an agreement of some sort. Incidentally, IANAL, but my understanding of those workplace IP agreements is that they only cover inventions and ideas you come up with "in the course of performing your job," or something to that effect. They do not cover nights and weekends. Read your contract's fine print, though, because there have been horror stories here. Hit me up over email (address in my profile) if you're interested in speaking to my friend about her experience. I'm also happy to help as best I can.