Ask HN: How to resign from a small company? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How to resign from a small company?

9 pointsSkywing7 comments

Hi all,

I have been working at a small company for the past three years. The company consists of eight employees. A high school friend hired me and then we both eventually hired our third friend. So, three of the eight employees (including me) are high school friends. The three of us have been talking about starting our own company for a long time. We feel like we're in a good position to do so, right now. We've spent some time outside of work building a prototype and have presented it to some potential customers and they're wanting to pay for it.

How do we resign from this company in the best possible way?

We carry the majority of the work-load, here. Our boss moved away and does not even communicate with us more than once a week. He attempted to sell the company, with no success. So, we're all kind of sitting in limbo wondering what the plan for the future is. Our boss is a very temperamental person and somewhat of a loose cannon. The product that we're developing outside of work is in the same space as the company we work at, now. No, we do not have a non-compete or NDA formally signed. We did not verbally agree to anything, either. (These are all parts of the reasons we want to move on, also.) I cannot honestly see us quitting going over very smoothly, but it's something that I feel that I personally need to do. My future is stagnating here and I'm not learning anything. I'm facing a great opportunity to do something that I've been reading about other people doing, for the past two years since I found Hacker News.

Do you think there is any legal problems with three of us quitting, even if we stagger it out over a period of one or two months? It'll be a big blow to this company, but staying here is a bigger blow to our futures.

Based on your description, I wouldn't expect things to go well regardless of how you try to handle them. If they do go well, then you can be pleasantly surprised.

That said, one alternative is to develop a transition plan on your own and present it along with your resignation - perhaps a contractual arrangement for consulting is possible during the transition or even over the longer term.

Assuming that this is a straight up employee-employer relationship, leaving on your own terms is often acceptable - and the fact that the company is in limbo certainly is a legitimate consideration.

[IANAL] My advice would be to formalize your new enterprise before resigning and assigning all the relevant IP to the new enterprise to avoid potential personal liability [/IANAL]

In other words speak with your attorney.

Good luck.

I would explain to your boss (together or individually) that you're planning on moving on, but that you don't want to see his company go belly-up in the process.

Set out a hard timeline (2-3 months, depending on how long it would take to transfer information, knowledge, etc.), and let him know that that's when you'll be gone.

That gives him time to find appropriate replacements, and for you to hand on any business knowledge that it required. I would also make a point of starting to document odd processes in the systems you have built, just so that it's documented.

I wouldn't go poaching his clients; it's just bad form. If they come to you on their own, that's one thing, but to tell them that you're moving (and setting up a competing business) is, contract or not, a dick move.

I didn't mean to imply that we were going to compete with him. We definitely would not be poaching his clients. This is not us trying to screw him over in any way. It's just us trying to move on but we don't want to leave him high and dry.

Thank you for the feedback.

IANAL.

1. Don't use any company provided resources on your new project. Not even internet access or AC power. Definitely no computers. Do not communicate (phone/email) about the new company during work hours.

2. Create handwritten/dated logbooks (or at least email through a third-party provider) detailing everything you're creating for the new company. Anything you can't prove was created outside work hours/resources is potentially poisonous.

Your obligation to your employer is commensurate with their obligation to you. If you feel like they've been flexible and accommodating (or would be, should the need arise), then I think it's reasonable (and very nice of you) to do what you can to protect their interests. Having said that, I do routinely see people bend over backward for employers who would shaft them in a heartbeat if it added a nickel to the bottom line.

Leave as fast as you can. I just got out of a similar situation and it was killing me. Leaving will suck, and you'll feel like a jerk, but its your life to live and you have to do what is right for you.

Seriously, leave now.

It sounds like it would be a good idea to talk to a lawyer. It's already obvious that things will go badly and right or wrong, your employer may sue. Make sure you're prepared for it (I am not a lawyer, that's why I suggest you talk to one). Then give your boss your two weeks notice, be very polite but don't go int details. Staying longer, trying to be the nice guy, will only result in disaster.

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