Ask HN: How do I present my side project to my current company? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How do I present my side project to my current company?

5 pointsd--b8 comments

Hi HN,

I have been working on a side project for a while, and now I think I have a prototype that is not quite ready for beta, but almost. At the same time, a partner at my current job told me that they have a project they want to do, and they don't really know how to make it happen. What they don't know is that the side project I have been developing would be perfect for the task.

So I really want to take advantage of the situation by approaching the partner and telling him that I have been working on a tool on my own, and that it would make sense for them to use it for their project.

What I would like to do is:

1. Create a company (not yet created because I work in finance, and if I create a company I have to tell my boss for legal reasons...)

2. Make sure the company owns the IP of the tool I developed

3. Still work at my current job, part-time if possible, to keep the money coming and to integrate my tool into their infrastructure, and to have some time to work on the company (raising money, communicate, finding other clients)

4. In 6 months or so, leave my current job, and work full time on the company.

So, I am asking myself the following questions:

a. Is that a sound plan?

b. How do I present my plan to them?

c. This must happen all the time, are there any kind of templatized legal agreements for my point 2 and 3 above?

d. Are there any pitfalls? What are the ways I can get screwed?

Any help, past experiences to share, or good advice would be much appreciated! It is a rather exciting / stressful time!

A few thoughts:

. Be really sure that your current company can't claim ownership of your project. Have you ever worked on it during work hours? Have you used company property to work on it? Have you used code produced at work in it? Also, some states are very unfair towards employees, and everything they do on their spare time belongs to their employer.

. I see a big conflict of interest if you own the company developing the product and work at your current job to integrate it. What if something needs to be fixed? Are you gonna do it at work? But then they're paying you to fix a product belonging to another company. Are you gonna have a contract with them to improve the product? Why would they keep you on the payroll?

My advice: create your company, work on your product on your own time, find another first customer.

Why do you need to tell your current company anything?

Just work your normal job until it becomes too inconvenient to keep working there, give 2 weeks notice and be on your way.

Because it's a great way to show that there is a market for the product?

Sounds tempting to get them to try it out . . . but I would avoid mixing your work world and future company/product world, keep them isolated, you have your contract that states it's your IP but if this thing is really awesome and fills a need they are looking for they could change their mind or create a legal hassle for you. Maybe not likely but possible.

I would contact other potential users of the product while staying away from your direct competitors to your day job just to keep things isolated. Grow some users/revenue then think about putting in your notice once you reach a level of revenue that you are comfortable with.

Signing up your current company isn't really a way to show their is a market for your product since you have an inside connection.

Grow an email list and test out signing up people/companies you don't know.

Good luck with your company, sounds promising.

I am in a somewhat similar position, having worked on a few side projects but seriously doubt my current company will ever be interested in them. They do not conflict with my current employer's business interests. When I was hired onto my current employer I signed a document that transferred rights of software I develop to them. IANAL, I was naive coming out of college, so I don't know if that was standard.

What this has manifested as so far is I have sent emails to HR when contributing to open source code under guidance of my mentor, and they have not cared so far. I am on good terms with management so coming to an agreement about side projects is not out of the question.

All advice I've gotten so far points towards having a clear separation of resources used, target market, and ensuring current employer is on good terms with what you do.

Edited for clarity.

IANAL, but a few items you may consider:

1. Did you work on the side project using any of the resources of your current company? If so, they could potentially claim they own the IP. Even still they could try to say that you developed the product knowing there was a need for it within their company therefore they should own the IP.

2. Do you have any sort of employment agreement that stipulates ownership of side projects?

3. Depending on your company they may force you to quit before allowing you to sell a product back to the company. Some companies can be touchy when it comes to potential conflicts of interest like this.

4. Most importantly, I would talk to an attorney before proceeding to discuss any potential pitfulls. A few hundred dollars spent now could potentially save you thousands down the road in legal fees.

1 no 2 yes, the contract states that everything that I do outside of work hours and not using the office equipment is mine 3 ah didn't know that 4 I did that, yes, that was definitely useful

Watch Silicone Valley http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2575988/

Exactly the same story

Reply on news.ycombinator.com