This is how to get paid to develop your startup | Hacker News Reader

This is how to get paid to develop your startup

thedailywtf.com

49 pointsCyberFonic21 comments

Sally missed her chance. Instead of watching TV whilst on the bench, she could have gotten a startup running and being paid for it. Now what was the name of that consulting firm?

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Some hyperbole, but the general idea that employees are on the bench for a very long time is true. I spent the first year of my career at a large services company and saw a number of friends go through this. It may seem surprising that people are paid when they don't have anything to do, but that's part of the business model. The companies want to be able to say, "we have 300 people ready to start now if you sign the contract". If I'm not mistaken, 20-25% of the workforce can be on the bench at any given time.

The sad part is that new college grads are thrilled that they get paid without having to do anything, which is dumb. Some of the most productive time of their lives is lost forever.

Indeed. I'm surprised she just sat around and did nothing - if I were in that situation I'd be ecstatic about getting the money, but very concerned about what this does to my employability down the line.

If I interviewed someone with "two years" of experience in-industry, and it turns out that all they've done since graduation is sit around and chew corn flakes... well, there are a lot more qualified people out there.

I don't believe this story. Oh I'm sure there's a kernel of truth in there, but I think it's mostly made up.

Agreed. It paralleled my experience at Deloitte Consulting almost exactly up until they said 11 months of being "on the bench".

It was more like 3 weeks in my case probably (and after that consistent mind numbing 50 hour weeks). And during my short time in consulting I never met anyone else who was "on the bench" longer than maybe 3-4 weeks or so.

So yeah, I'd say the story is either exaggerated or an anomaly.

In my experience in Accenture I've seen several people 'benched' during a re-assignment, in some extreme cases for as much as 3 weeks - 1 month, but eleven months is utterly exaggerated. This is obviously bogus. Plus, when you're in stand-by you're supposed to be at the company's main offices (normally, you'd be working at the client's premises) doing online or offline training.

If you start a startup on company time, the company might end up owning your startup.

What if you work in the night and then sleep 9 to 5pm? Then you would be working at your time, and only sleeping at company time.

It doesn't matter. They way they word the contract, it looks as if they could claim your firstborn as company property.

A lot of this stuff is unenforceable though.

Just because something is written in a contract (which you may have signed in preference to starving or losing your house) doesn't mean it can be enforced.

Imagine if a company wrote in the fine print that if you cost them money they can kill you. Do you think they would be allowed to because you signed the contract?

Sure, but that doesn't imply that nothing that is in a contract can be enforced. Do you have some information as to the enforceability of disowning moonlighters?

Well, I was under the impression that if one clause in the contract is unenforceable then the whole thing is invalid (in the US). Am I incorrect?

>Do you have some information as to the enforceability of disowning moonlighters?

Enforceability? You mean if you moonlight they fire you? Well, I'm sure they can find a reason to fire you any time they want for whatever reason, but hopefully they will only even know about your moonlighting because it was successful enough that you don't need them anymore.

Reminds me a bit of IBM Global Services in the late 90s.

I was hired by a related entity. Was benched for just over six weeks. Got fed up with it and quit. Never regretted it since.

I can relate. Lots of Benchtime and then suddendly you have to travel across the continent to do work you're not interested in. That's consulting in a big company..

To be fair, the first year I was part of a great team with an excellent boss that mentored me and taught me a lot about business, sales and managing people. Then he left and so did I. also never regretted that decision.

My advice to her: Go on. Be a tiger.

These types of things do happen at consulting firms but you never know how long you'll be on the bench till you get your next gig.

Because of that, I don't know if it's any more conducive to developing a startup than any other situation. You could very easily go from the bench to an 80hr/week project in short amount of time. If I were developing something on the side, I'd rather have more of a set, regular schedule.

...and no money?

Not saying I'd be jobless, just having a set schedule. :)

As someone who worked for a major technology consulting firm, I can tell you how difficult it can be.

I've had exactly this kind of experience working for a Big 4 consulting firm a couple of years back

What a fantastic opportunity to start a side business and work on it full time!

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